How Chapel Hill, area school systems are preparing for the expected snowstorm

The town of Chapel Hill and all three area school systems announced schedule changes for Wednesday because of the snowstorm that is expected to hit the Triangle on Wednesday.

Durham Public Schools, Orange County Schools and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools all will be closed. Person County Schools and Chatham County Schools also announced they would be closed Wednesday.

Chapel Hill has canceled Wednesday’s trash and solid waste collection in the city. It will announce an amended collection schedule later this week.

Chapel Hill Transit will update the plan for Wednesday morning by 7 p.m. Tuesday.

The Chapel Hill Public Library and Chapel Hill Parks and Recreation facilities will open no earlier than 10 a.m. Wednesday. A decision on closing them for the day will be updated by 9 a.m. Wednesday morning.

In Durham County, the sheriff’s office said deputies will be driving on rural roads and highways and will be on the lookout for stranded motorists or abandoned vehicles. If a vehicle is unoccupied, deputies will attach yellow tape to the exterior of the vehicle, alerting other law enforcement agencies and drivers that the vehicle was checked. In addition to providing roadside assistance, deputies will conduct welfare checks upon request.

The National Weather Service in Raleigh is projecting 2-3 inches of snow beginning Wednesday morning. Town of Chapel Hill officials are monitoring the forecast and preparing roads and facilities for potential winter weather.

The area will be under a winter weather advisory beginning at 11 p.m. Tuesday. The overnight low Tuesday night into Wednesday morning is 28 degrees. The high Wednesday is 29 degrees. The overnight low Wednesday night into Thursday morning is 16 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

“The timing of this storm could make Wednesday morning’s commute hazardous,” said Chapel Hill emergency management coordinator Barry McLamb. “Keep an eye on the forecast as you go to bed Tuesday night, and check your local and social media channels before you depart Wednesday morning. Make sure you have plenty of gas in your car and supplies in case you become stranded on the road unexpectedly.”

The NC Department of Transportation has applied brine to I-85 and I-40 along with key Orange and Durham county routes. NCDOT is also pretreating its five primary streets in Chapel Hill (Franklin Street, Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard/Columbia Street, Fordham Boulevard, Manning Drive, and South Road/NC 54).

Public works crews applied brine on Chapel Hill-maintained primary streets, bridges and overpasses, and driveways to key town facilities.

McLamb also reminded pet owners to take care of their outside pets.

“If you can’t bring your pets inside, make sure they have blankets or hay to help keep them warm and check often to make sure their water is not frozen,” said McLamb. “Whenever you have the opportunity, check on your neighbor to make sure they are safe and have adequate supplies.”

This story was originally published January 16, 2018 at 6:45 PM with the headline "How Chapel Hill, area school systems are preparing for the expected snowstorm."