Triangle beginning to thaw after day of wintry weather

RALEIGH -- Triangle residents awoke to a crust of ice over lawns and shrubs Saturday morning - what was left after sleet and snow flurries changed over to freezing rain for much of central North Carolina Friday.

While some main sections of interstates were in good shape after a heavy salting from DOT crews overnight, more secondary roads still had plenty of icy spots.

While a Winter Weather Advisory from the National Weather Service due to the threat of black ice expired at 11 a.m. Saturday, the North Carolina Highway Patrol continued to warn drivers to be careful.

Troopers encouraged drivers to stay home unless they absolutely had to be out on the roads.

Many schools, businesses, churches, and community groups with events scheduled for Saturday announced delays or closings.

» Click here for a complete list of closings and delays «

While there were literally hundreds of accidents across the state Friday, the North Carolina Department of Transportation was getting credit for preventing a much worse scenario by pre-treating interstates, bridges, ramps and primary roads across the area.

Road conditions would have been much worse if crews hadn't worked for days to get ready for the storm, said DOT spokeswoman Nicole Meister.

The double rounds of sleet and freezing rain across the state Friday were enough to bring about every major highway in the state to a standstill for a time.

Friday afternoon, traffic was moving less than 30 mph on much of Interstate 40 from Winston-Salem to Raleigh and Interstate 85 from Charlotte to Durham, according to the DOT.

Police from Raleigh to Durham and south to Fayetteville went to dozens of calls of cars overturned.

The storm has caused no deaths, and only scattered power outages have been reported. Snow was even seen on the beaches of the Outer Banks.

The chill won't last too long. Highs in much of North Carolina should be in the 60s by Tuesday.

» Click here for the 7-Day Forecast«

Classifieds | Report A Typo |  Send Tip |  Get Alerts | See Click Fix
Follow @abc11 on Twitter  |  Become a fan on Facebook

Get more Local/State »

local/state

• Comment Now
• Email
• Print
• Report a typo
•