GREENSBORO, N.C. — Wednesday morning brought soaking cold rain and freezing rain to many areas in the Piedmont for several hours. An icy glaze of around 1/10" accumulated on most elevated surfaces like railings, tree branches, decks, and patio furniture. Bridges were a bit slick but travel issues remained minimal. But, all of that leftover rain and cold may make for a slick commute Thursday morning
Our high was only 34° Wednesday with not far to fall before we're back to freezing, which will cause any moisture on the roads to refreeze.
With another round of rain that pushed through late in the evening, plus already being dark, the roads won't have a chance to dry. That means that as temperatures drop back below freezing tonight, any moisture on the roads will refreeze creating patchy black ice by Thursday morning.
Those pockets of moisture or rain water left will be very thin and look like wet spots on the road to the naked eye, or maybe even hardly seen at all, which makes it that much more dangerous.
We'll also have fog forming overnight than could actually freeze and make surfaces slick again. This means that railings, steps, car handles, etc could all be slick, as well as your driveway or sidewalks, too.
It's best to play it safe, drive slower than normal, and just take it easy if you have to be on the road in the morning. Watch closely going over bridges and overpasses as they'll refreeze the quickest. it's probably a good morning to work from home if you have the availability.
Also, pay close attention to your decks and stairs before you go out. They could be very slick and dangerous if you're not careful.
The sun will come back out for a good part of the day on Thursday and temperatures will warm back into the mid 40s which will help to melt and dry things up a bit.
By the afternoon there will likely be some dark bottom clouds that may bring a few showers to the area in the evening, but the day will not be a washout. We're drying out again to end the week.
