Snow forecast: Greenville Schools to make closing decision Wednesday morning

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Greenville County Schools maintenance crews loading trucks with "ice melt" and readying plows at the district warehouse ahead of possible snow. Greenville County Schools

UPDATE: The National Weather Service is predicting the Upstate may see upwards of 2.5-3 inches of snow overnight and into Wednesday. Meteorologist Scott Krentz said rain will start between 10 and 11 p.m. Tuesday night and will eventually switch over to a mix of rain and snow between midnight and 5 a.m. Snow will continue to fall until noon Wednesday.  "It's going to be pretty light, but it will start to accumulate," he said. The Weather Service will be updating its forecasts late Tuesday night, and may bump up its accumulation prediction, Krentz said. 

UPDATE: Greenville County Schools may wait until Wednesday morning to announce any school closings or delays due to the weather. Spokesperson for the school district, Beth Brotherton said if the weather system arrives earlier than predicted, a decision could come later tonight. The district is encouraging parents to make plans tonight for childcare tomorrow in case of a possible closure of delay. 

Snow is back in the forecast for Greenville and recent cold temperatures could create some problems on Upstate roads as forecasts suggest 3 or more inches of snow could accumulate into Wednesday.

The National Weather Service out of Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport issued a Winter Weather Advisory covering Western North Carolina and Upstate South Carolina. 

The advisory said a fast moving cold front, named Winter Storm Inga is expected to move approach from the west today and move across the Upstate overnight. Light precipitation is expected, with snow totals up to two inches in the mountains and an inch or less in the Upstate. 

NWS warns recent cold temperatures may allow the snow to stick to untreated roads, causing potential problems early Tuesday. 

Greenville County Schools is keeping an eye on the forecast. Maintenance crews at the district warehouse have loaded trucks with “ice melt” and have our plows ready to roll, according to Beth Brotherton, director of communications for GCS.

Brotherton said Greenville County administrators are consulting with the National Weather Service, Emergency Preparedness Officials, the Department of Transportation and Law Enforcement. The district now plans to mak

try to make a decision on whether to close or delay schools on Tuesday night, in order to give parents enough time to make appropriate plans.

Snow is expected to end by midday Wednesday, according to NWS.

Ben Carroll, who oversees Greenville's streets and sidewalks crews, said the city's public works team has assigned a crew to work overnight as the storm arrives.

"There's no playbook for this," Carroll said. "Every event is different. You just have to be ready. You don't want to be caught unawares."

Daytime crews were already checking city plows and making sure salt and brine mixes were ready Tuesday morning. 

If snow begins to fall as forecast overnight, Carroll said the city will likely call its street crews in to work.

Anna Mitchell and Haley Walterscontributed to this report