Like the rest of the nation, eastern North Carolina has seen its fair share of bitter temperatures and winter weather. Now, the county is bracing for more snow and/or sleet today, into tomorrow.

According to the National Weather Service, two waves of wintry weather are expected: the first, snow and sleet today, followed by another wave of snow, sleet and freezing rain overnight into Wednesday morning.

“Right now, we’re kind of getting a handle on what’s going on,” said Curtis Avery, Beaufort County fire marshal and acting emergency manager.

Avery said NWS is forecasting a dusting of snow this morning, but it’s Wednesday morning commute that may be more problematic.

“(Tuesday) morning is going to be a little slippery, but if people drive with caution, they should be okay,” Avery said. “Wednesday morning ice is probably going to be a pretty big issue. … They’re not looking at a whole lot, just enough to be dangerous.”

As of 4 p.m. Monday, NWS had issued a winter weather advisory, calling for snow accumulation of 1 to 2 inches, along with around 1/10 an inch of ice and warned of hazardous road conditions. As with the other storms the area has seen over the past few weeks, North Carolina State Highway Patrol is warning motorists to keep driving to minimum.

“Last week, the storm we had, there was very little traffic out on the roads and that contributed to the lack of accidents we had to investigate,” said Sgt. Beau Daniel, with the North Carolina State Highway Patrol. “We understand that people have to work, but the best thing to do is to stay home, so you don’t put yourself in a potentially dangerous situation.”

Officials with Beaufort County Schools have been monitoring the weather threat since Sunday and as of Monday at 6:30 p.m., county schools were under a 3-hour early release today, according to Sarah Hodges, public information officer for the county schools. Wednesday has yet to be decided, but parents will be updated.

“If conditions change and we need to change those plan, we’ll call (parents) back,” Hodges said.

The number of snow days so far this year has already extended the school year by a half day and depending on whether school is cancelled in response to the impending storm, the year may be extended by another day.

“There are a few options. Extending the school year by one day is one option,” Hodges said. “We haven’t touched Easter or spring break, which we are trying desperately not to do. We’ll just have to see what kind of time we’re talking about before we can figure out which avenue is best for everybody involved. … I don’t remember a February like this.”