Snow begins falling in North Carolina. Slick roads possible in Charlotte.
Snow showers from a wintry-mix storm spread Wednesday morning along the Interstate 40 corridor north and northwest of Charlotte and in the Carolinas mountains, according to the National Weather Service.
Around an inch of snow had fallen in Haywood County west of Asheville, according to a citizen video reposted online at 8:30 a.m. by the NWS office in Greer, S.C.
A mix of rain and snow fell in the Charlotte area after 10 a.m., with little to no accumulation at first.
A light snow fell in Mooresville near Lake Norman just before 11:30 a.m. and finally began sticking to the ground at 3 p.m.
“It’s not going to be a dramatic start,” NWS meteorologist Chris Horne said Wednesday morning. “It should become more steady this afternoon.”
The rain and snow reached Morganton after 9 a.m. with no snow accumulations, Horne said. Morganton is 76 miles northwest of Charlotte.
Charlotte had an 80% chance of precipitation on Wednesday, with only rain forecast before 3 p.m, then a chance of rain, snow and sleet, the 9 a.m. forecast showed. Little or no snow and sleet accumulation is expected at Charlotte’s airport on Wednesday, according to the forecast.
By 5:15 p.m. Wednesday, most of the snow pushed east of the western Carolinas, the NWS said.
“A secondary wave of snow is expected across the area Thursday morning,” NWS meteorologists said on the social media site X. “Light accumulations may develop as snow will be moderate to locally heavy at times.”
Up to a half inch of snow is forecast in Charlotte Thursday morning, although chances are slight at 30%.
The Lake Norman area could see up to an inch of snow through Thursday morning, including Cornelius, Huntersville and Davidson, the forecast showed. Mooresville could see up to 1 1/2 inches.
State of emergency, school cancellations
The storm front delivered dangerous cold to the state, with nighttime temperatures 20 degrees below normal in some areas, the National Weather Service said.
Charlotte will see lows in the teens and 20s much of the week, and some mountain counties will plummet into single digits after dark, with wind chills below zero. Gusts of 45 mph are expected in some areas.
“Light snow and tonight’s freezing temps may make the roads slick and cause dangerous conditions,” Charlotte-Mecklenburg Emergency Management officials said on social media.
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein declared a state of emergency Tuesday.
“The greatest concerns remain power outages and road safety,” Stein said during an 11 a.m. storm news briefing in Raleigh on Wednesday. “It will be unsafe to travel in many parts of the state.”
Charlotte and much of the rest of the state is under a winter weather advisory until noon Thursday.
“Most of North Carolina will be impacted by this storm, and our greatest concerns are potential power outages and road safety,” Stein said in a statement.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools switched to remote learning Wednesday and canceled all extracurricular activities, athletics and facilities use.
CMS will be on a two-hour delay Thursday.
Avoid roads when the storm arrives on Wednesday and keep your devices charged, Stein urged drivers and others.
The North Carolina National Guard activated at least 180 members to help communities statewide, Stein said.
Charlotte Area Transit System riders should check the Inclement Weather page on RideTransit.org for real-time bus route service alerts. CATS will give free rides to warming shelters in Mecklenburg County Wednesday through Friday.
State highway crews began brining Charlotte-area roads on Monday and continued to apply the ice- and snow-melt mixture of salt and water on Tuesday.
CLT flight delays, cancellations
The weather appeared to ground many flights and spoil travel plans for passengers at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
As of 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, CLT had 244 flights canceled and 181 delayed, according to FlightAware, a website providing real-time information.
The Federal Aviation Administration reported on X that the weather may disrupt flights from Boston, Orlando and airports in the New York region. The destinations are some of the top choices for CLT passengers.
Charlotte Douglas encouraged passengers to check with their airline for the status of their flight before leaving for the airport. CLT is providing updates on the weather through its social media outlets such as X and Facebook.
The NWS forecasts a high of 37 on Thursday, which should speed thawing of ice on surfaces. The low Thursday is predicted to be 19 degrees.
Statewide, at least 1,500 N.C. Department of Transportation employees have pre-treated roads. As of Tuesday morning, crews spread 1.8 million gallons of brine on hundreds of miles of interstates, highways and secondary roads, Stein said.
State Highway Patrol troopers moved 273 abandoned vehicles from the sides of roads statewide over 24 hours so NCDOT crews could clear roads of anticipated ice and snow, Stein said Wednesday.
Staff Writer Chase Jordan contributed.
This story was originally published February 19, 2025 at 10:22 AM.