Skies will clear, but travel remains iffy in the Triangle and Central NC
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- State and local officials urge residents to stay home as crews clear roads.
- Interstates and main roads get priority from NCDOT; subdivisions wait longer.
- Temperatures rise to upper 30s then plunge to single digits, refreezing hazards.
Many roads remain covered with snow, slush and ice in the Triangle and surrounding counties Monday morning. But with temperatures inching above freezing and the sun expected to return in the afternoon, road crews will make progress as the day goes on.
State and local officials are still advising people to stay home, and schools, government offices and many businesses are helping by remaining closed. Even some main roads and interstate highways have icy patches, and most secondary roads are partly or fully covered.
State highway crews have made progress clearing highways and other primary routes and hope to get to secondary roads Monday, said Daniel Johnson, the state Transportation Secretary.
“People have been heeding our calls to avoid travel,” Johnson said in a statement. “But now is not the time to get complacent. Driving is still really dangerous in much of North Carolina. So please stay off roads unless it is critical you travel.”
The State Highway Patrol says it responded to 739 collisions statewide between Saturday evening and 6 a.m. Monday. With more people venturing out, it will be another busy day. Crashes on northbound U.S. 1 in Apex and eastbound Interstate 40 near Research Triangle Park brought traffic to a crawl Monday morning.
Temperatures will reach the upper 30s this afternoon, helping melt some of the ice and snow. But another blast of arctic air will drive lows near single digits Tuesday morning and keep overnight lows well below freezing through the week, refreezing slush and water on the pavement.
Road conditions will remain dangerous well after the storm, Gov. Josh Stein said Sunday.
“If you have to drive, drive much slower than normal,” Stein said. “Give much more distance than normal, so that you have time to respond. Do not make sharp turns or a sudden stop.”
As always, road crews will work to clear snow and ice from the most heavily traveled roads first, said Doug McNeal, NCDOT maintenance engineer for the seven-county region that includes Durham and Wake.
“We’ll definitely be focusing on the interstates and the main roads,” he said Sunday. “Residential subdivisions, it’s going to be a while.”
To see the latest road conditions, go to drivenc.gov/.
Chapel Hill Transit, GoDurham and GoTriangle remain closed Monday, as they were all day Sunday. GoRaleigh will operate a Sunday schedule from noon to 6 p.m. Monday and will start a normal weekday schedule at 8 a.m. Tuesday.
GoTriangle says it will resume normal service at noon Tuesday.
All Piedmont and Carolinian passenger trains were canceled Sunday and will operate a partial schedule on Monday. The Piedmont is scheduled to leave Raleigh toward Charlotte at 10 a.m. and 12:45 p.m., but the 3:15 p.m. train is canceled. The southbound Carolinian is due into Raleigh at 6:32 p.m. on its way to Charlotte.
The morning northbound Carolinian was canceled, as was the first run of the Piedmont from Charlotte. The Piedmont is scheduled to leave Charlotte at 2:20 p.m., 5 p.m. and 7:45 p.m.
This story was originally published January 26, 2026 at 10:00 AM.
