First round of snow to linger through late afternoon Tuesday

"It will take some for this system to push off the North Carolina coast," she said. "We continue to have a good bit of snow falling in Wake County, but it is beginning to taper some. It's going to be with us for a little while longer. By mid-afternoon our focus will shift to along the Interstate 95 corridor."

From Raleigh eastward, some areas have seen snowfall totals climb above 2 inches in the last hour or two.

Temperatures will be in the mid-20s for the bulk of the afternoon.

"Roads could improve a bit during the afternoon, but by this evening slick spots will once again be an issue," Gardner said. "They will be very treacherous Tuesday night into Wednesday morning."

Temperatures will remain below freezing throughout the day and retreat into the 20s overnight, making slick roads a continued concern headed into the Wednesday morning commute.

"We've been talking about midday for this precipitation tapering off, but it looks like it will be early afternoon for the bulk of the area," she said.

The blooming snow could continue to be an issue through about 2 or 3 p.m., Gardner said, but it shouldn't major additional problems on the roads. In fact, roads could improve some during the afternoon as state Department of Transportation crews continue to treat them with a salt-sand mix.

"We're seeing a gridlock situation at Interstate 40 and U.S. Highway 70, and it's slow at I-40 and Interstate 540 as well," he said. "The weather turned quickly and roads got slick, and now we're seeing residual backups."

"Extreme southeastern parts of the state are even seeing some of this precipitation change over to sleet or freezing rain," Gardner said. "It's going to be a mess in the Wilmington area this afternoon and evening."

Those in the Triangle who did make it to work should probably wait until mid-afternoon to try and venture home, Gardner said.

Authorities said it appears the man was speeding prior to the wreck, according to WRAL reporter Arielle Clay.

WRAL traffic reporter Brian Shrader said highway ramps, bridges and some secondary roads with more hills are especially slick.

"In and around Wake County, we've really only seen about half an inch of snow," Gardner said. "We may have some isolated pockets of bigger accumulations south of the Triangle, but it will really be based on which areas ended up with heavier amounts."

In an attempt to prevent wrecks, Raleigh police were closing Wade Avenue between Brooks and Daniels because of slick conditions.

Students who are unable to safely attend class will be allowed to make up missed class work, and faculty may make decisions regarding individual classes.

"As long as there are a lot of cars on the roads, our trucks can not get their work done," he said.

Charbonneau said roads were not treated before the snow arrived because of the forecast for lighter precipitation later in the day.

"The forecast changes and people were already on the road," he said.

"The back edge of the precipitation is in the western parts of our area, but there is another round of potential snow behind it," she said. "We have the potential for snow showers on and off through about lunchtime."

Area roads are becoming snow-covered because of the bitterly cold temperatures, which were in the mid-20s across the Triangle at 8:50 a.m.

"With this type of snow, this was our fear. Once it falls onto the roadway, it gets compacted and becomes a slick surface," he said. "Troopers are going to a substantial number of calls, mainly vehicles sliding on the roads and running into other vehicles."

"We've probably seen some of the heaviest snow move through the area already, and things will probably become more patchy as we go through the rest of the morning," WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner said. "Our snow chances will continue to diminish during the afternoon."

Triangle Transit and Durham Area Transit buses are running regular routes and schedules, officials said.

The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory for all of the Triangle until 10 p.m. Tuesday. Snow is possible throughout the morning across the area, with heavier snowfall amounts likely south and east of the Triangle. Snow was sticking to roads across much of the area.

"It's going to be a doozy of a morning. Expect more school delays and closings throughout the morning. We will see lots of changes between 5 and 7 a.m.," WRAL meteorologist Elizabeth Gardner said. "We're thinking that this snow will come in bands, so we'll have widely varying conditions in different parts of the area, and this will be with us through about lunchtime."

Snowfall totals could range from a dusting to 3 inches during the day Tuesday, and the extreme southeastern portion of the state – areas in an around Wilmington – could end up with a wintry mix by the time precipitation moves out.

Temperatures were in the mid-and upper 20s before daybreak, plenty cold enough for frozen precipitation to be an issue. High temperatures Tuesday won't climb above freezing.

North Carolina Department of Transportation crews in Wake County had planned to treat roads with brine after the morning commute, but snowfall arrived before the crews could get out.

"Now, the challenge is getting out there and covering all of our roadways. Our crews will be out treating the roads with salt and sand," DOT spokesman Mike Charbonneau said.

Lt. Jeff Gordon, a spokesman for the state Highway Patrol, said drivers should reduce speed if they have to be out.

"We're in the infancy stage of this winter storm, so it's going to be kind of touch and go here. Some of the roads are starting to become snow-covered," Gordon said.

Another system expected to move into the region on Wednesday could bring an additional round of snow that could produce totals from 3 to 6 inches across the area. WRAL Chief Meteorologist Greg Fishel said accumulation will depend on a number of variables.

"We definitely expect heavier amounts of precipitation," he said. "The issues are going to be how much is going to fall and what form is it going to be in, and is the warm ground leading into the event going to be an issue in terms of cutting down on accumulation."

Temperatures will remain cold on Thursday and Friday once the winter weather systems move out, but warmer weather is on the horizon for the weekend.

Highs will be in the 40s on Saturday and Sunday, and temperatures could be in the 50s or near 60 degrees by the beginning of next week.