Gov. Josh Stein has declared a State of Emergency ahead of this weekend’s projected snowstorm that could bring six inches to the Charlotte area and western North Carolina, eight inches to the Raleigh/Durham area, and as much as 10 inches to New Bern and the eastern part of the state, according to a Thursday morning briefing by the National Weather Service in Raleigh. Most of the state is under a Winter Storm Watch, with the Asheville area being under a Winter Storm Warning.
All totals are subject to change depending on the track the storm takes.
Widespread power outages are not expected, but winds are expected to pick up during and after the storm, which may lead to some outages.
This is the second state of emergency that the governor has declared in the past week, as a devastating ice storm was expected to hit the state last weekend. Thankfully, more sleet, and some snow kept ice totals down, causing fewer power outages than expected and fewer accidents on the roadways, with no fatalities.
“We don’t believe we had any traffic fatalities last week because of the storm in a state of 11 million people,” Stein, a Democrat, said during a press briefing Thursday. “That is remarkable, and it’s a testament to their [NCDOT] hard work to clear the roads. It’s a testament to the Highway Patrol making sure that the roads were clear of abandoned vehicles and being on the road, and a testament to the National Guard. I saw a great video of them getting trucks out of the median. These folks care deeply about their work, making sure that people are safe. And then finally, it’s a testament to people staying home.”
NCDOT crews, who worked about 100 hours week, according to the governor, were out Thursday brining area roadways, trying to get ahead of the storm, which is expected to start late Friday night and continue into early Sunday morning. They will continue brining on Friday.
He said there is some concern about overwash from the tides on the Outer Banks, and advised residents and visitors to be aware.
Like most states during a storm, North Carolina road crews prioritize interstates first, then major state roads, and finally secondary roads, but there is no guarantee of when that will happen.
Other states, like New York and Pennsylvania, have roads owned by counties or municipalities that have separate road crews apart from their state DOT, and work at the same time.
“We wish after a big storm that it could be within 24 hours, that’s just not the way the world works,” Stein said. “So, we ask people to be patient and to understand that it’s better not to be on the roads.”
He said the state isn’t sure yet whether it will need to request a separate federal emergency declaration apart from the one granted by President Donald Trump last week, which they are possibly considering expanding to cover additional expenses they incurred.
Both he and Emergency Management Director Will Ray stressed that just because they requested the funding doesn’t necessarily mean they will receive it.
Another briefing from the governor and state officials is expected on Friday.
