Winter storm to impact ‘majority of the state,’ NC Gov. Josh Stein says
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Gov. Stein warns a winter storm will disrupt most of North Carolina this weekend.
- NCDOT stages crews and supplies: salt, brine, graders and trucks for priority highways.
- Officials urge residents to prepare, avoid travel and follow power outage safety guidance.
North Carolina Gov. Josh Stein is warning the upcoming winter storm coming to the state “has the potential to be a massive disruption to people’s lives.”
Stein and other state officials urged everyone to be prepared for the weather and potential power outages by Friday night, and to stay off the roads starting Saturday unless absolutely necessary. Snow and ice is forecasted for Saturday and Sunday.
The governor urged people to get prepared over the next two days. “Don’t wait until it’s too late,” Stein said.
Here’s what the state is doing to prepare.
North Carolina preparations for snow, ice
NC Department of Transportation Secretary Daniel Johnson said NCDOT has been pretreating roads to get ready for the “widespread event” with “potential to impact all roads in North Carolina.”
Johnson said his agency has:
- 2,100 specially trained employees available to respond to the storm, and 1,100 have already pre-treated roads with 300,000 gallons of brine.
- 1,250 dump trucks fitted to clear snow and ice,
- 913 contract trucks,
- 217 motor graders on standby, and
- 150,000 tons of salt to treat roads, and obtaining more.
Johnson said that crews are prepared to work around the clock in shifts to plow and treat snow and ice, as well as remove fallen trees and debris.
Major highways will be the first priority.
“Please don’t try to drive,” Johnson said. “Cars and ice simply do not mix.”
Visit drivenc.gov for latest travel information.
‘Hot spot’ crews ready for roads in Western NC
NC Emergency Management Director Will Ray said the forecast as of Thursday shows “this will be a significant event covering most of the state.”
Ray said that “hot spot crews” from NCDOT and the N.C. National Guard are being deployed along major routes, primarily in Western North Carolina.
Those locations, which are targeted because they have steep inclines, are along Interstate 40 in Clyde, which is in Haywood County; I-40 at Old Fort in McDowell County; on the Saluda grade in Polk County; and along I-77 and U.S. 321 in Surry County, Ray said.
Johnson, the DOT secretary, said that hot spots are “anywhere there’s a steep grade where ... in icy conditions, roads or vehicles are likely to lose traction and lose control more frequently. So we pre-position. We know this from over time and learn from history where those spots are going to take place.”
He said they are urging both individuals and commercial drivers to stay off the roads when the storm hits on Saturday.
N.C. State Highway Patrol Col. Freddy Johnson said that state troopers are with the DOT and National Guard crews, and that heavy vehicles will be used to clear any stranded vehicles from the road.
He said the N.C. Trucking Association also knows where the hot spots are “so they can alert all these companies. North Carolina is part of a mega-transport region, so we have a lot of that traffic in North Carolina. So we partner with them, they notify their federal partners, so everybody gets alerted what’s going on.”
Downed power lines expected
The N.C. Forest Service within the Department of Agriculture has also been activated to be ready to clear downed trees.
Ray said that ice accumulation of a half-inch or more leads to downed power lines. There may be “considerable disruptions to daily life,” he said.
Ray also urged safety during power outages:
- Operate generators outside,
- Never burn charcoal or use gas grills indoors,
- Use battery-operated lights rather than candles to reduce risk of fire.
Visit readync.gov for more safety information.
This story was originally published January 22, 2026 at 1:05 PM.
