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    WINTER WEATHER PREPAREDNESS WEEK IN NORTH CAROLINA
                NOVEMBER 28 - DECEMBER 4 2010
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THIS WEEK HAS BEEN DECLARED WINTER WEATHER PREPAREDNESS WEEK IN 
NORTH CAROLINA. ALL WEEK THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILL IS 
ISSUING INFORMATIVE MESSAGES TO HELP YOU PREPARE FOR WINTER WEATHER.

EACH DAY WE WILL COVER A DIFFERENT TOPIC. TODAY WE WILL TALK ABOUT 
THE SOMETIMES NOT SO BEAUTIFUL WONDERLAND CREATED BY SNOW.

CITIZEN SCIENTISTS WISHING TO REPORT SNOW AND RAINFALL AMOUNTS ARE 
ENCOURAGED TO JOIN THE COMMUNITY COLLABORATE RAIN...HAIL AND SNOW 
NETWORK. DAILY REPORTS ARE SENT VIA THE INTERNET AND USED BY THE 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE AND OTHER AGENCIES DAILY. TO EXPLORE 
BECOMING AN OBSERVER...PLEASE VISIT: WWW.COCORAHS.ORG.

JUST A SMALL AMOUNT OF SNOW CAN ADVERSELY IMPACT WESTERN NORTH 
CAROLINA IN A VERY SHORT TIME. BASED ON CLIMATOLOGY...MOST SNOW 
EVENTS IN NORTH CAROLINA OCCUR BETWEEN 5 AM AND 2 PM. THIS IS OF 
COURSE THE CRITICAL TIME FOR SCHOOL BUSES AND COMMUTING MOTORISTS. 
THE TIMING OF SNOW AND ICE IS OF PARTICULAR CONCERN SINCE MOST 
WINTER STORM DEATHS ARE THE RESULT OF AUTOMOBILE ACCIDENTS.

HEAVY WET SNOW ACCUMULATIONS COMBINED WITH WIND CAN BRING DOWN TREES 
AND POWER LINES. IN RURAL AREAS...HEAVY SNOW CAN ISOLATE PEOPLE IN 
THEIR HOMES FOR DAYS. DRIVING IN SNOW CAN BECOME VERY HAZARDOUS THE 
VERY MOMENT SNOW STARTS TO STICK TO THE ROAD. ABOUT SEVENTY FIVE 
PERCENT OF ALL WINTER RELATED DEATHS OCCUR IN AUTOMOBILES WHEN CARS 
SLIDE ON SLIPPERY ROADS CAUSING ACCIDENTS. WITH THIS IN MIND...WHEN 
SNOW FALLS AND ROADWAYS BECOME DANGEROUS YOU SHOULD ONLY TRAVEL WHEN 
ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY. STAYING OFF ROADS DURING SNOW AND ICE ALSO 
ALLOWS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION CREWS TIME TO CLEAR AND TREAT 
ROAD SURFACES.

IN MANY CASES...ROAD CONDITIONS WORSEN THE NIGHT FOLLOWING THE 
SNOWFALL. THIS OCCURS WHEN LOW TEMPERATURES AT NIGHT FALL WELL BELOW 
FREEZING ALLOWING THE SNOW ON THE ROAD SURFACE TO FREEZE INTO ICE. 
IN THESE CASES THE ROAD SURFACES ACTUALLY BECOME MORE DANGEROUS A 
NIGHT OR TWO FOLLOWING THE WINTER STORM. THESE ICY ROADS CAN ALSO 
MAKE MORNING COMMUTES TO SCHOOLS AND BUSINESSES VERY DANGEROUS.

PREPARING FOR THE NEXT WINTER STORM BEFORE IT HAPPENS IS BEST. WHEN 
SNOW IS IN THE FORECAST...MAKE SURE THAT YOU HAVE ENOUGH FOOD AND 
MEDICINE AT YOUR HOUSE TO LAST SEVERAL DAYS. ALSO MAKE SURE THERE IS 
ENOUGH FUEL FOR ALTERNATIVE HEAT SOURCES SUCH AS FIREPLACES (WOOD OR 
GAS) AND HEATERS. IT IS ALSO HELPFUL TO HAVE A FULL TANK OF GAS IN 
YOUR CAR. NOT ONLY WILL THIS KEEP YOU FROM HAVING TO GO TO THE GAS 
STATION...DURING TIMES OF SNOW...IT PROVIDES MORE WEIGHT TO YOUR CAR 
AND CAN IMPROVE TRACTION IN SNOW.

BEING PREPARED ALSO MEANS HAVING THE NECESSARY INFORMATION TO MAKE 
THE RIGHT DECISIONS. THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ISSUES WINTER 
WEATHER ADVISORIES WHEN 2 TO 3 INCHES OF SNOW IS EXPECTED. WHEN 4 OR 
MORE INCHES OF SNOW IS FORECAST...WINTER STORM WATCHES AND WARNINGS 
ARE ISSUED TO PROTECT LIFE AND PROPERTY. THESE WATCHES AND WARNINGS 
ARE ISSUED AS MUCH AS 48 HOURS IN ADVANCE OF THE SNOW TO ALLOW THE 
COMMUNITY AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS TO PREPARE AND PLAN FOR THE WINTER 
WEATHER.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON WINTER WEATHER PREPAREDNESS CAN BE 
OBTAINED ON-LINE THROUGH THE NORTH CAROLINA DEPARTMENT OF EMERGENCY 
MANAGEMENT HOME PAGE AT: HTTP//READYNC.ORG

UP TO DATE WEATHER INFORMATION IS ALSO AVAILABLE ON-LINE AT:
WWW.WEATHER.GOV/BLACKSBURG.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WINTER WEATHER PREPAREDNESS WEB SITE IS:
WWW.NWS.NOAA.GOV/OM/WINTER/INDEX.SHTML