HIGH POINT — The High Point area could get 2 to 3 inches of snow from Friday afternoon through early Saturday morning as a fast-moving winter storm rushes through the state.
The snowfall is expected to arrive from 1 to 2 p.m. Friday and end from 4 to 5 a.m. Saturday, said Andrew Kren, meteorologist with the National Weather Service.
“We are expecting about 15 or so hours of precipitation,” Kren told The High Point Enterprise on Thursday afternoon. “It’s a pretty fast-moving storm from southwest to northeast.”
The High Point area is expected to receive primarily snow, though Kren said the final couple of hours could bring sleet and freezing rain before the storm system tracks out of the area.
Guilford County Schools will switch to remote learning Friday. Plans for classes on Monday will be formalized over the weekend.
Meals on Friday will be available to school-age children from 10 to 11 a.m. in High Point at the Sylvia Mendez Newcomers School next to High Point Central High School, Union Hill Elementary, Jamestown Elementary, Ragsdale High and Andrews High.
Meals will be available on a first-come, first-served basis and must be eaten on-site
Because temperatures have been so cold this week, the snow that falls should begin sticking to surfaces immediately. Kren said that the frigid temperatures could make driving treacherous sooner rather than later as the storm arrives.
“There could be some black ice,” he said.
N.C. Department of Transportation officials urged motorists to heed caution on roadways and avoid travel if possible.
“Travel could be treacherous across much of the state through the weekend,” said state Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins. “We encourage non-essential travel to be limited to allow crews time to safely clear roads.”
The city of High Point began brining roadways on Wednesday to spur melting of snow and ice, said Public Services Department Director Robby Stone. The focus is on primary routes such as Main Street, Westchester and Eastchester drives, Fairfield Road and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Drive.
Stone said that city crews are prepared to plow major streets if necessary.
The city has adequate supplies to respond to the storm, Stone said. The Public Services Department maintains a stockpile of 800 tons of deicing salt along with a capacity of 33,100 gallons of salt brine.
The DOT reports that it has nearly 2,000 trucks that can be equipped with plows and spreaders to remove snow and ice. The DOT can store up to 9,577 tons of salt and sand and 1.9 million gallons of brine at its facilities across North Carolina.
If High Point gets measurable snowfall Friday, it would be the second time in nearly three years that the city recorded snow. On Dec. 3 the city got half an inch of snow.
Before Dec. 3, the last measurable snowfall in High Point was nearly 2 inches on Jan. 29, 2022. The city went two entire winter seasons without measurable snowfall.