The Governor of North Carolina has just declared a state of emergency ahead of Winter Storm Grayson.
The Storm is expected to hit the state hard tonight into tomorrow morning.
The governor held an emergency broadcast this morning to give further details on what emergency resources will be deployed for the areas of our state expected to be hardest hit.
.@NC_Governor Cooper: state Emergency Ops center activated this morning; impacted part of state I will be calling for state of emergency #ncwx
— NC Emergency Managem (@NCEmergency) January 3, 2018
Winter Storm Grayson is expected to dump as much as 6″ of snow on some parts of our state.
According to the National Weather Service, there is now a 45% chance that the Charlotte region will see snow from the winter storm over the next day or two;
The weather service is now calling for “hazardous” conditions throughout our region and warned the storm could mean icy roads tonight and tomorrow morning.
Charlotte residents are now being asked to salt or de-ice their walkways and sidewalks if any precipitation occurs.
UPDATE 1/4/2018 8:10 am:
Winter Storm Grayson blanketed many parts of our state in think snow cover (thick for our state), with some areas around Greenville receiving over 12 inches of snow and parts of South Charlotte receiving a light dusting;
There are currently widespread power outages in many parts of our state;
Latest estimates show statewide power outages at around 4500; majority eastern NC, in Craven, Dare, Currituck, Carteret, Harnett, New Hanover counties #ncwx #WinterStorm
— NC Highway Patrol (@NCSHP) January 4, 2018
and over 660 trucks are now working to clear roads and lay down over 3,700 tons of salt;
Our crews are out working hard to clear affected areas from snow and ice. Here are the current numbers: pic.twitter.com/fEdsnK0zLB
— NCDOT (@NCDOT) January 4, 2018
Several areas of our state have also issued black ice advisories;
As the snow continues its crawl out of our area, new weather hazards arise. A Winter Weather Advisory for Black Ice has been issued for the majority of Central #NCwx through Saturday Morning. A Wind Chill Advisory has also been issued for overnight Thursday into Friday. pic.twitter.com/zpCcSnhLgG
— NWS Raleigh (@NWSRaleigh) January 4, 2018
Drive safe out there!