FRANKLIN — Forecasters have issued a winter storm watch for parts of the North Carolina and South Carolina mountains.

The National Weather Service says freezing rain could leave up to a quarter-inch coat of ice on power lines and tree limbs starting late Thursday night through Friday. An additional half inch of snow and sleet could also fall making roads treacherous.

The watch is for the North Carolina mountains south and west of Asheville and for the mountains in extreme northern South Carolina.

Forecasters say freezing rain and sleet are also possible in the South Carolina Upstate and much of western and central North Carolina on Friday, but no watches or advisories have been issued yet.