Rain, freezing rain, sleet, snow: Listen for pings, freezing rain clings
OF COURSE. WE'LL CONTINUE TO
WATCH THAT WAS STILL HAVE
SEVERAL DAYS. SO JUST KEEP
CHECKING BACK. THIS IS A LOOK
AT WHERE THE FRONT IS RIGHT NOW
WITH THE RAIN THAT WILL BE
ARRIVING THE NEXT DAY OR 2.
AND THEN, OF COURSE, SATURDAY
INTO SUNDAY, WE'RE LOOKING AT
A SIGNIFICANT AMOUNT OF ICE AND
THERE MAY BE SOME SNOW MIXED IN
AS WELL. WE'LL CHECK IN AGAIN
IN JUST A LITTLE BIT.
THE WRAL SEVERE WEATHER TEAM
IS GROWING CONCERN WITH A
CHANCE FOR MIXED PRECIPITATION
THIS WEEKEND. METEOROLOGIST
CHRIS MICHAELS SHOWS US WHY.
>> AND WHAT THE DIFFERENCE IS
BETWEEN FREEZING RAIN AND
SLEET.
>> OFTENTIMES HOW CLOSE WE ARE
TO THE ATLANTIC WILL HELP
DETERMINE OUR PRECIPITATION
TYPE. IT'S REALLY HARD FOR US
TO GET ALL SNOW THROUGHOUT THE
ENTIRETY OF A STORM. SO WHAT
YOU GET ARE THESE LITTLE LAYERS
OF WARM AIR ABOVE THE SURFACE
THAT CAN CHANGE THE TYPE OF
PRECIPITATION IF THAT LAYERS
THICKER THAN YOU GET MORE
FREEZING RAIN. IF THAT LAYERS
A LITTLE THINNER THAN YOU GET
MORE SLEEP, YOU OFTENTIMES ARE
GOING TO ROOT FOR SLEEP BECAUSE
IT PINGS IT BOUNCES OFF OF
SURFACES. KIND OF LIKE
SPRINKLES ON A DONUT, RIGHT?
HOWEVER, FREEZING RAIN. IT
CLINGS ON TO OBJECTS, POWER
LINES AND TREES KIND OF LIKE
A GLAZED DONUT. WE HAVE A LOT
OF FOLKS WHO ARE NEW TO THE
AREA THAT MAYBE AREN'T USED
TO THIS KIND OF WEATHER.
AND THAT'S A HELPFUL ANALOGY
FOR YOU. BUT ONCE YOU GET ABOVE
A QUARTER OF AN INCH OR HALF AN
INCH OF ICE THAT COLLECTS ON
POWER LINES AND TREES. THAT'S
WHEN YOU START TO GET A LITTLE
MORE CONCERNED ABOUT POWER
OUTAGES. LATE SATURDAY AND
SUNDAY. SO WHEN WE LOOK AT THE
DATA AND WE SEE THE ODDS OF
SIGNIFICANT SNOW COMING DOWN,
A KIND OF CATCHES OUR ATTENTION
THAT, HEY, THERE COULD BE MORE
MIXING WITH THIS STORM
REGARDLESS. THE ODDS ARE THERE
FOR A VERY IMPACTFUL WINTER
STORM IN THE AREA HEADING INTO
THE WEEKEND.
>> CHRIS, THANK YOU. WE WANT
TO SEE YOUR PHOTOS AND VIDEOS
OF THE WINTER WEATHER ONCE IT
ARRIVES HERE AND THAT WILL BE
STARTING SATURDAY IF IT'S A
SNAP OF PICTURE TAKING VIDEO
AND SEND IT TO US, YOU CAN GO
TO WRAL DOT COM SLASH REPORTED