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The Guilford County Schools system is on a two-hour delay Friday.

Other area school systems on a two-hour delay include Winston-Salem Forysth and Alleghany in North Carolina and Carroll County in Virginia. In Guilford, all after-school activities will operate as usual today. The school system initially said it would cancel after-school programs.

The National Weather Service in Raleigh issued a winter weather advisory for parts of the Triad after light snow fell over the area. The advisory ended at 8 a.m.

Across the state, snow was reported early this morning from Boone to the Raleigh-Durham area.

The snowfall didn't last long in the Triad, and what did fall left a light dusting on grassy and elevated surfaces. Roads in Greensboro are wet but clear this morning.

In the mountains, eastbound lanes of Interstate 40 were closed near the Haywood-Buncombe county line while crews work on the road between mile markers 33 and 37. Traffic was being detoured.

The snow wasn't included in earlier weather forecasts for Buncombe County, but forecasters said accumulations up to 3 inches were expected at higher elevations along the North Carolina-Tennessee border.

Authorities said police responded to dozens of wrecks. A truck jackknifed and rescue crews took the driver to a hospital. Police said the truck spilled some diesel fuel, but not enough to be considered dangerous.

The city of Asheville delayed bus service until the weather cleared. Schools in Asheville and other mountain counties closed for the day.

As the snowfall ends, much of the state will see conditions ripe for fires. A strong cold front will create gusty winds through Friday afternoon. Sustained winds will be 15 to 20 mph later this morning and this afternoon, with gusts as high as 30 mph.

Combined with dry, windy conditions from earlier in the week, authorities are advising residents in central North Carolina not to burn leaves today. (Read the advisory here.)

On Thursday, forecasters said winter in North Carolina could be wetter and colder than the past few seasons despite a Southern outlook for drier and warmer conditions.

National Weather Service meteorologist Jeff Orrock said Thursday the state will likely see a decrease in global weather patterns that have made past winters warmer and drier.

Orrock said forecasters examined weather records for past years when conditions were similar to the start of this winter. He said in those years the temperatures were colder and had more precipitation.

He said the last active winter was in 2004, when about 2 feet of snow fell in Asheboro.

The National Weather Service on Thursday released its annual national winter weather outlook for December through February.

Forecasters expect the state to see a decrease in global weather patterns that have made past winters warmer and drier.