Avery Co Schools dismissing students early due to approaching winter weather

AVERY COUNTY, NC (WBTV) - Students who attend Avery County Schools will be dismissed early Tuesday afternoon due to the approaching winter weather.

According to school officials, Avery County Schools will dismiss students at 1:30 p.m. with the exception of Avery Middle School and Avery High School. Students who attend Avery Middle School will be dismissed at 1:45 p.m. and students who attend Avery High School are expected to be dismissed at 2 p.m.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg School officials said they were "closely monitoring the weather forecast and the anticipated chance for severe weather."

"District leadership will collaborate with county emergency officials as well as CDOT to determine the best decision to open schools on time, delay or close schools, with safety for students and staff as top priority."

According to officials with the North Carolina Emergency Management, a Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for the Piedmont and the mountain counties.

While most of Tuesday will remain dry - but cold - for the mountains, snow will likely break out there during the early evening hours. For everyone east of the mountains, precipitation is expected to start overnight (during the predawn hours), and while there could be a little light rain at the very start, this will be a mainly snow event.

Accumulations will be fairly light - from a dusting to an inch, with some spots picking up to about two inches. However, we know all too well that it doesn't take a lot of snow to cause big problems. Plus, the best chance for snow will come in right around the time of the morning commute on Wednesday. That is why a First Alert Day has been declared for Wednesday. Sunshine will quickly return after the morning snow pulls out, but Wednesday will be very chilly as we hover in the lower 30s.

Any melting snow Wednesday afternoon will refreeze Wednesday night as we did into the teens, so be prepared for icy road conditions Thursday morning.

You can find the full list of school closings and delays here.