Snow, sleet fall across Charlotte area

A mix of snow, sleet and freezing rain is falling across the Charlotte region early Friday, a potentially crippling combination that’s already led to school closings, wrecks on slippery roads and power outages in some areas.

Just before 7:30 a.m., Duke Energy reports that 1,900 customers are without power in Cramerton and McAdenville in Gaston County. About 230 outages were reported in Mecklenburg, affecting 600 customers mainly off Monroe Road, Sardis Road and Pineville-Matthews Road.

Police have responded to dozens of wrecks Friday morning, including several on the Interstate 485 Inner and Outer Loops between Idlewild Road and Arrowood Road. Other wrecks have been reported on Interstate 77 northbound at LaSalle Street and in Huntersville at Sam Furr Road.

On Twitter, Medic said it responded to six wrecks, half of which were reported after 4 a.m., and calls for falls and exposure to the cold.

Police also are at wrecks on I-77 southbound just north of the Brookshire Freeway, on I-85 southbound at Mallard Creek Church Road and one with injuries on I-85 northbound in McAdenville. Several wrecks have been reported on the John Belk Freeway.

The wintry mix is expected to continue falling until Saturday morning. Forecasters also say wind gusts up to 30 mph are possible through Friday night, increasing the likelihood of falling trees and branches.

About a third of an inch of ice could fall in Charlotte from the winter storm, more than enough to bring down tree limbs and power lines. Forecasters also were calling for up to 4.5 inches of snow in the city.

Counties northwest of Charlotte saw higher snow and sleet accumulations Friday, with areas to the south experiencing more freezing rain, said Harry Gerapetritis, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service. Rainfall is expected to last through the rest of the day before a low-pressure system moves into the region and turns any lingering precipitation into snow early Saturday.

The forecast led Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools and other nearby districts to cancel classes for Friday. Other school systems also announced closings, including schools in Anson, Gaston, Lincoln and York counties, the city of Hickory and Rowan-Salisbury schools. UNC Charlotte, Wingate University, Appalachian State University and Winthrop University won’t hold classes Friday.

American Airlines canceled all flights in and out of Charlotte Douglas International Airport on Friday. The airline operates more than 90 percent of daily air service at the airport, so air travel to and from Charlotte will be mostly stopped until Saturday morning, when American plans to resume flying from the city.

Flights also are canceled Friday for Regionals, Delta, United, Southwest, Lufthansa, Air Canada, ViaAir and JetBlue. Ticketed customers on another airline should contact that airline before heading to the airport. The airport is open, with limited field operations.

The city of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County also announced early Friday that their offices would be closed.

On Thursday, Gov. Pat McCrory declared a state of emergency across North Carolina and officials also activated an emergency operations center. In Raleigh, McCrory said the goal was to be “over-prepared and, hopefully, underwhelmed.” He said he hoped forecasters were wrong, but “if they’re not wrong, we are going to be prepared.”

Officials urged people to stay off the roads if at all possible.

More than 1,000 state transportation workers were ready to respond where needed, said N.C. Transportation Secretary Nick Tennyson. He urged drivers to stay off the roads, but officials said Highway Patrol troopers plan to tag any abandoned vehicles they find.

“You can say, ‘I’m a good driver.’ But it’s not just you who’s out there,” Tennyson said. “You’ll have to deal with other people who are out there, too.”

Rain, snow and sleet were expected to begin falling well before dawn Friday and continue throughout the day. The precipitation is forecast to taper off on Saturday afternoon.

  

The low for Friday is expected to fall to 30 degrees, then to 24 degrees on Saturday. The high Friday isn’t expected to rise above freezing at 31. Temperatures should begin to rise on Saturday (to 34 degrees), Sunday (44) and Monday (49 degrees), forecasters said.

Complicating matters, the storm collides with the televised NASCAR Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony uptown, when five new members will be inducted. The ceremony was about the only Friday event that officials said with certainty would not be canceled.

It also comes on the biggest weekend of the Carolina Panthers’ season, when the Panthers play the Arizona Cardinals for the NFC Championship at Bank of America Stadium.

Thursday, Charlotte officials canceled a Panthers Pride Rally, scheduled for lunchtime Friday. Saturday and Sunday, thousands of football fans may face slick roads to Charlotte.

Refuge from the storm

On South Tryon Street, Shirley Still stood on the side of the road and brushed snow and ice away from her car.

She said she works overnight for Wells Fargo and left her car parked on the street. She planned to go home quickly and take refuge from the storm, although she is expecting an influx of 12 relatives to join her.

Three arrived Thursday night, she said, and the rest were scheduled to arrive Friday. Of course, she was ready with the snowstorm essentials – bread and milk. But she was unsure if she had enough in stock to nurture all her family.

“There’s (currently) seven of us,” she said. “We’ll have to see what happens.”

The Associated Press contributed.

This story was originally published January 22, 2016 at 6:46 AM with the headline "Snow, sleet fall across Charlotte area."