The potential for a high-impact winter storm is growing for much of North Carolina this week, and that could spell trouble for high school sports.

Precipitation is expected to begin across North Caorlina on Wednesday morning and last through Wednesday evening, according to WRAL meteorologist Chris Michaels. The storm could last for 9-12 hours, he says.

Some areas will see mostly or all snow, however there will likely be an area of ice, which could lead to downed trees and power outages. Travel is likely to be challenging over a wide part of North Carolina.

The N.C. High School Athletic Association is slated to hold its individual wrestling state championships this week at the Greensboro Coliseum. Wrestling is supposed to begin on Thursday and run through Saturday night, however a winter storm could impact that.

During winter storms in the past, the wrestling state championship schedule has been altered and condensed. No changes have been announced by the NCHSAA as of Monday morning though. Schedule changes for an event like the individual wrestling state championship can be complicated because of venue availability and staffing.

In the past, the NCHSAA has moved state championship and state playoff events to Sundays due to inclement weather.

The basketball conference tournaments are also scheduled for this week, beginning on Monday and running through Friday. These tournaments will almost certainly be impcated by the winter storm.

In previous seasons when inclement weather has occurred and interrupted conference tournaments, the NCHSAA has extended the timeline for conference tournaments into the weekend. This has allowed some conferences to compelte tournaments, or if they can’t be completed, the conferences can at least hold tie-breaker games for the state playoffs.

The NCHSAA is supposed to release the state playoff brackets for basketball on Saturday. Any future changes to the conference tournament schedule could impact that though.

On Monday afternoon, the NCHSAA said it is monitoring the weather forecasts and will make a decision no later than 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday about any potential changes.

“Any adjustments to the schedule will prioritize the safety of our coaches, athletes, officials, support staff, media, and fans,” the NCHSAA said in a statement.

HighSchoolOT will monitor the NCHSAA for any schedule changes and share those announcements online. Be sure to sign up for our email alerts to get breaking news delivered to your inbox.