Charlotte snow total may hit 13 inches. Roads are a mess; many CLT flights canceled
One of the biggest snowfalls Charlotte has seen in years snarled flights and traffic, and ground much of the region to a halt Saturday. But the wintry weather was perfect for kids and those young at heart, who took to sleds, snowmen and snowball fights.
Seven to 13 inches of snow were forecast, National Weather Service maps showed Saturday afternoon. The weather pattern known as bombogenesis, or a bomb cyclone, also brought bitter cold.
“Dangerously cold wind chills as low as 5 below zero” could result in hypothermia or frostbite if precautions are not taken,” according to an Extreme Cold Watch. The watch is in effect from 7 p.m. Saturday through 10 a.m. Sunday.
Charlotte’s all-time single-day snowfall is 14 inches, set on Feb. 15, 1902, NWS meteorologist Mike Rehnberg said. The 13 inches called for this weekend would not hit the entire area, he said.
A gentle snow blanketed the region Saturday morning and continued all day. It’s possible the region would get 5 to 9 inches through Saturday evening and 2 to 4 inches late Saturday and early Sunday, before the system gives way to sunny skies, the forecast showed.
The snow turned heavy by Saturday afternoon, with the threat of freezing fog in some areas possible.
Bomb cyclones like the one along much of the East Coast this weekend are located 6 to 9 miles up in the atmosphere and rapidly intensify, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The high Saturday stalled at 20 degrees, but it felt colder due to gusts of up to 30 mph, forecasters said. A low of around 12 degrees was expected Saturday night, with wind chills of 0 to -5, according to the NWS.
At the airport, “wind chill values as low as -1” are forecast Sunday, the NWS said. The wind chill describes how cold the weather feels “based on the rate of heat loss from exposed skin caused by wind and cold,” NWS forecasters said.
“As the wind increases, it draws heat from the body, driving down skin temperature and eventually the internal body temperature,” according to the NWS. “Therefore, the wind makes it feel much colder.”
‘A lot of accidents in Mecklenburg County’
Heavy bands of snow hit Mecklenburg and Cabarrus County roads the worst, Michael Mariano, an NCDOT Division 10 maintenance engineer, said at a Saturday afternoon news conference.
Sixty-six NCDOT trucks and 129 contract trucks will plow roads until the snow ends, Mariano said.
“We have seen a lot of accidents in Mecklenburg County,” mainly because of drivers “traveling at unsafe speeds,” he said. “Stay home if at all possible.”
On Saturday evening more than 100 vehicles were stuck on Interstate 85 moving northbound in Kannapolis after multiple collisions and stuck tractor-trailers, according to NCDOT. The National Guard was deployed to help clear the road and get cars moving again and the highway was open again by 9 p.m., state officials said.
Around 6 p.m., outbound East Independence Boulevard was closed between Interstate 277 and Briar Creek Road due to hazardous conditions, police said.
Call 311 for non-life threatening situations and 911 for life- and property-threatening issues and crimes in progress, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said.
CMS cancels activities, flights delayed at CLT, CATS suspends service
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools canceled all field trips and athletic events and closed all schools and other buildings through Sunday.
The Charlotte Area Transit System suspended bus service at 3 p.m. Saturday and Blue Line light rail service at 5 p.m.
Bus and Blue Line service will resume at 10 a.m. Sunday and suspend at midnight, CATS announced. Gold Line and CATS Micro service will remain suspended due to road conditions.
At Charlotte Douglas International Airport, over 1,100 incoming and departing flights were delayed or canceled as of 9 p.m. Saturday, according to flight tracking site Flight Aware.com.
From midnight to noon, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol responded to 340 wrecks, none fatal, and 370 calls for service statewide. By evening, state officials said 750 collissions had been reported to troopers. Medic responded to 33 wrecks since midnight, including a collision at Arrowood Road and Whitehall Executive Park Drive that hospitalized two people with life-threatening injuries.
A vehicle hit Long Creek Fire Department Engine 10 at the scene of a crash on I-485 in Charlotte, the Huntersville Fire Department reported. No one was injured.
Video on social media showed cars skidding out of control after police waived them around a wreck on Independence Boulevard.
In Monroe, light snow began falling shortly after 3:30 a.m., changed to sleet around 4:40 a.m. and soon transitioned back to snow, Monroe Police Lt. Catherine Hower said.
In Belmont, police reported “extremely hazardous” road conditions and multiple collisions. “Please stay home if you can,” police urged. Police added a video of poor visibility on Interstate 85.
And in Gastonia, a train hit a semi-tractor trailer at Poplar Street and Airline Avenue. “Luckily no injuries, the driver was able to get out,” police posted on social media.
Few outages because of the snow
Duke Energy reported no widespread weather-related outages in the Charlotte area.
Charlotte’s last significant snow — 3.5 inches — fell on Jan. 17, 2018, the private AccuWeather reported.
The city experienced one of it biggest snowfalls on record – 13.2 inches – in late February 2004. In January 2003, 8.5 inches fell, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.
In the mountains, most of the Blue Ridge Parkway remained closed Saturday, rangers said. The parkway is open in Asheville from the Folk Art Center, milepost 382, to Highway 25 (Hendersonville Road), milepost 388.8.
All roads in Great Smoky Mountains National Park are closed, except for the Spur, a 5-mile stretch that connects Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, Tenn. “Crews are actively clearing the Spur, but it remains icy!” rangers said on social media. “Please drive with extreme caution.”
The Charlotte forecast
Late Saturday and early Sunday, a low of 11 degrees was forecast, and 9 degrees late Sunday and early Monday.
All sunshine is expected Sunday and Monday, with respective highs of 32 and 38, the forecast showed. Tuesday should be partly sunny with a high of 44.
Wednesday has a 50% chance of rain and snow from 7 to 9 a.m. and a chance of rain after 9 a.m., the forecast showed. Rain and snow have a 50% chance of falling again from 1 to 4 a.m. Thursday and snow after 4 a.m., with snow chances dropping to 30% during the day.
Thursday and Friday should be mostly sunny, with respective highs of 40 and 48.
Reporters Amber Gaudet and Nora O’Neill contributed.
This story was originally published January 31, 2026 at 7:38 AM.