Ice coats Charlotte area roads, causes wrecks and closures as snow blankets region
Icy roads caused wrecks across the Charlotte area Thursday morning, as snow fell in the region.
Huntersville firefighters closed N.C. 73 near Duke Energy’s McGuire Nuclear Station to free a person from a multi-vehicle crash around 9 a.m.
“VERY ICY,” fire officials said on social media about the N.C. 73 bridge over the Catawba River near the nuclear plant and Lake Norman. “Avoid the area.”
MEDIC said it took five patients from the scene to hospitals.
Minutes later, Huntersville firefighters responded to a crash on the Alexandriana Road bridge over Interstate 77.
“This bridge is also very icy,” fire officials said. “Please use extreme caution around elevated surfaces and overpasses for now.”
No one was hurt in the wreck, MEDIC said.
The N.C. 73 crash was the most severe of six wrecks MEDIC said it responded to from 7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.
Minor injuries resulted from a crash on the Brookshire Freeway/N.C. 16 Mountain Island Lake bridge, MEDIC said.
A wintry-mix storm on Wednesday left a layer of ice on roads across much of the state, emergency officials said.
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 saw lows in the teens and 20s much of the week, and some mountain counties plummeted into single digits after dark, with wind chills below zero and 45-mph gusts.
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein declared a state of emergency Tuesday.
Charlotte and much of the rest of the state is under a winter weather advisory until noon Thursday.
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools switched to remote learning Wednesday and canceled all extracurricular activities, athletics and facilities use.
CMS was on a two-hour delay Thursday.
Charlotte flights canceled, delayed
Wintry weather in parts of the country led to flight cancellations and delays at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.
As of 4:45 p.m. Wednesday, 244 flights were canceled and 181 delayed at CLT, according to FlightAware, a website providing real-time information.
On Thursday, by 10:45 a.m., 198 CLT flights were delayed and 165 canceled, FlightAware reported.
Charlotte forecast
The National Weather Service forecast an inch of snow in Charlotte Thursday before the wintry system moves from the region later in the day. A winter weather advisory for Mecklenburg and surrounding counties expires at noon.
Charlotte has a 40% chance of snow, possibly mixing with rain, after noon, the forecast showed. Skies should gradually clear, but the afternoon will remain chilly, according to the NWS. A high of 38 is predicted.
This is a developing story.
This story was originally published February 20, 2025 at 10:38 AM.