KILL DEVIL HILLS, N.C. — Janille Turner is the owner of Ocracoke Oyster Company and was up on the mainland for the day as she made her way to a doctor's appointment in Virginia. With the potential for winter weather this week, she wanted to be prepared and stopped at Lowe's in Kill Devil Hills.
“I actually came up and bought some salt. This was my first stop," said Turner.
Potential for snow and sleet is not something the Outer Banks sees often.
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“It was in 2013 or 2014, I live on Ocracoke, so we got a tremendous amount of snow there, I think upwards of eight inches. So it devastated us down there," said Turner.
With a plan to travel back down south on NC12 Tuesday morning, Turner is hopeful treatments on the road will help as temperatures drop.
"There is standing water on 12. It'll probably freeze tonight. But I did see that they've been salting," said Turner.
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It’s still not exactly clear what the Outer Banks is going to see with this storm. But the local North Carolina Department of Transportation's message is: prepare for the worst but hope for the best.
“We could go through an entire winter where we never see anything, but it's (equipment and crews) still here in case it happens," said Tim Hass, the communications officer for NCDOT Division One.
Right now, that means pre-treating the roads with brine from Corolla to Hatteras. Once some kind of precipitation comes, that’s when salt is laid down.
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“Whether it's ice, whether it is snow, the salt goes on top of that and helps to make it easier to melt. If it gets below 20, the salt doesn't work as well as it should. So people should know that if it stays below 20, there are going to be frozen spots," said Hass.
Crews will be hard at work all week no matter what comes and encourage anyone using the roads to be cautious.
"If you can stay at home Tuesday night, Wednesday morning, do. If you have to go out, just be aware that there are going to be frozen spots, there will be places where it's shady, where it's very, very cold, and there will be frozen water on the roadways," said Hass.
