Chance of freezing rain in Triangle Friday night begins a wild weather swing

The Triangle will be on a wild weather ride over the next few days as a trio of fronts cause a 40-degree swing from below freezing Friday to near 70 on Sunday, before plunging back into the 30s Monday.

The National Weather Service has issued a freezing rain advisory from 7 p.m. Friday and through 9 a.m. Saturday. Meteorologists say light freezing rain is expected to begin falling this evening, making for slippery conditions, particularly on bridges and overpasses, roughly north and west of Interstate 95, including the Triangle. Lows are expected to dip to near 30, but threats of icy roads will pass by mid-morning Saturday.

The state Department of Transportation plans to brine some bridges on I-40 in Wake and Durham counties, Interstate 540 in Wake and I-85 in Durham on Friday as a precaution, said spokesman Steve Abbott.

Officials also will brine ramps near Raleigh-Durham International Airport where I-540, Aviation Parkway, U.S. 70 and Airport Boulevard connect. DOT will have a crew in overnight to be ready to address any trouble spots that pop up, Abbott added.

Friday’s cold temperatures are caused by Arctic air, which will be forced out Saturday by a warm front, the NWS predicts.

Highs will reach the low 50s on Saturday and 70 by Sunday afternoon. That veritable heat wave will be accompanied by rain and southwest winds gusting as high as 23 mph.

The warming trend won’t last, however, as another front of cold air makes its way to the region Sunday, forecasters say.

A chance of rain will continue as temperatures drop to near 36 on Sunday night. Temperatures in the mid 30s and rain are expected to stick around Monday.

This story was originally published December 16, 2016 at 10:19 AM with the headline "Chance of freezing rain in Triangle Friday night begins a wild weather swing."