Will York, Lancaster, Chester see sleet, freezing rain, ice or a snow flurry? Maybe
The Carolinas’ first winter storm of the season could briefly bring some freezing rain to parts of York County on Wednesday morning.
But forecasters say the storm system largely will amount to a near-miss for Rock Hill and much of the rest of the Carolinas.
Meteorologists say temperatures will climb a bit above the freezing mark while most of the precipitation is falling Wednesday morning and early afternoon. The forecast shows a possibility of sleet turning to freezing rain with a glaze of ice that won’t last.
“The latest forecast shows we might get a flurry or two, might get a little bit of freezing rain, but we are expecting a pretty good steady cold rain,” said Chuck Haynes York County Emergency Management Director. “Wednesday is going to be one of those cold, wet days.”
Most of the worst weather is expected north of Interstate 85, according to the current forecast. But a small shift in the track southward could make travel difficult in York, Lancaster and Chester counties.
“As all of us who have lived here for any length of time know, that line can slide in either direction, so a little preparation will not hurt anything,” said Darren Player, Lancaster County Emergency Management Director.
Producing wintry weather in the Carolinas requires two ingredients, each of which will be around this time. A cold high pressure system is expected to move into eastern Canada on Tuesday and pump cold air into the Carolinas. Meanwhile, low pressure systems in the Gulf of Mexico and off the Florida coast are predicted to combine into a single storm and move up the Carolinas coast.
The National Weather Service’s Jeffrey Taylor says precipitation is likely to develop in the Rock Hill area after 2 a.m. Wednesday. He says whatever falls is likely to be “a sleet-freezing rain mix along and north of the I-85 corridor.”
Those areas are where some accumulations of ice are expected Wednesday morning, but Taylor says ice buildups are expected to remain below the ¼-inch threshold at which power outages become widespread.
Temperatures are predicted to be near freezing at daybreak Wednesday, so a few of the slightly chillier locations in the Rock Hill area could see small ice accumulations for a time. But Taylor says temperatures rather quickly will climb above freezing, into the mid 30s for the rest of the morning.
Rain is forecast to end late Wednesday afternoon or early in the evening.
The biggest problem, meteorologists say, will be for anyone traveling into the foothills or northern Piedmont of North Carolina. That is where slippery roads are possible.
Farther to the north, the storm system is expected to dump heavy snow and sleet across Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania, New York and New England. The heavy snow is predicted to fall in Baltimore, Philadelphia and New York City, with Washington getting a snow-rain mix.
Cold temperatures are expected to remain across the Rock Hill area into the weekend, with afternoon highs in the mid and upper 40s Thursday and Friday, and near 50 Saturday. A gradual warming trend is predicted from Sunday into early next week.
Early look at Christmas: The government’s meteorologists are predicting temperatures at or slightly above average for Christmas, with a good chance of above-average precipitation. For the period of Dec. 22-28, above average temperatures are predicted for northern half of the country and near-normal readings in the South. Only the southern half of Florida is expected to see below-average temperatures.
Average highs and lows for Christmas in Rock Hill are 51 and 31.
Steve Lyttle on Twitter: @slyttle
This story was originally published December 15, 2020 at 8:04 AM.
