Weather officials: Freezing rain not expected to be hazard in Midlands

A brief spot of freezing rain is in the forecast for Monday morning's commute, though National Weather Service officials are saying it's not expected to stick to the roads.

“If we did have freezing rain, it would be very light,” meteorologist Chris Rohrbach said Sunday afternoon, adding that no accumulation is expected.

Rain of the non-freezing variety is expected Monday afternoon through the night.

Sunday’s low will hit about 30 degrees, while Monday highs and lows will stay in the 40s, according to National Weather Service.

Officials with the S.C. Department of Transportation said Sunday afternoon that on-call crews and equipment were on standby late Sunday and early Monday if needed, a news release said, adding that all Midlands counties have equipment hooked up and loaded for immediate response if needed.

Pretreating of roads started Sunday in the Upstate, where a winter storm watch was issued through Monday night. Forecasts called for snow there Sunday night, changing to sleet Monday morning.

Fortunately, the weather is happening on Presidents Day, a holiday for local, state and federal government offices, as well as other organizations. In the Midlands, that could keep many commuters off the roads.

University of South Carolina students are off for the holiday Monday, as are all Lexington County public school districts except Lexington 3. Students in Richland 1, Richland 2 and Kershaw County also are scheduled to be in classes.

Officials with public school districts in session said Sunday they are monitoring the weather but had no plans as of Sunday night for delayed starts Monday.

This story was originally published February 14, 2016 at 1:57 PM.