High winds whip things up in the Triangle

Hold on to your hats, folks.

The Triangle is under a high wind warning today as the tail-end of yet another snowstorm just north of us brings strong wind gusts, according to the National Weather Service in Raleigh.

There could be gusts well over 40 mph, meteorologist Darin Figurskey said. The high temperature is expected to hover around 36 degrees.

Falling trees and branches can also play havoc with power lines. As of 6:40 a.m., Duke Energy and Progress Energy reported scattered power outages in the Triangle, the largest affecting 2,659 customers in the Clayton area.

Davis Drive Middle School in Cary is also without power, but it is operating, said Principal Karen Summers.

She said they've had to make a few adjustments. There will be no hot lunches. Instead, students will get cold cuts and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. And some classes had to be moved out of windowless rooms. But she's been assured Progress Energy is working on the situation.

Progress Energy has beefed up line crews in anticipation of wind-related power outages, spokeswoman Marcia Howard said. The utility views winds in the 40- to 50-mph range as worrisome but says that the wet ground could lead to more dislodged trees than what is normally expected for winds in that range.

Recent snow and rainfall has saturated and softened the ground, leaving trees at risk of being uprooted in the high winds. Falling trees have been responsible for at least one death recently. A 72-year-old woman died in Dallas, N.C., last month when an oak tree uprooted by winds crashed onto the roof of her car.

Pine and other evergreen trees are particularly susceptible to high winds, but their deciduous brethren, barren at this time of year are less likely to topple, said Bryan Lowrance, a certified arborist with Raleigh's Bartlett Tree Experts. Trees weighed down with English ivy or other vines also become targets.

Travelers flying out of North Carolina should check with their airline for delays due to the high winds.