Winter storm blankets NC roads from coast to mountains. People urged to stay home.
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Snow and ice cover North Carolina roads from Outer Banks to mountains.
- Road crews warn several days of clearing as cold temps keep snow packed.
- Transit and trains run limited or canceled schedules; check transit agencies for updates.
Saturday’s snow storm has left North Carolina roads covered in snow and ice from the Outer Banks to Tennessee and everywhere in between.
Snowfall amounts vary widely, from just an inch or two in parts of Wake County to a foot or more in places along the coast and in the Piedmont. Sunday morning temperatures in the teens mean much of that snow remains where it fell.
Sunshine and slightly warmer temperatures Sunday afternoon are helping, but state and local officials are urging people not to travel if they don’t have to. Even main roads and interstate highways in the Triangle were covered with snow Sunday morning.
There have been more than 1,000 collisions statewide, including one that trapped more than 100 cars and trucks on Interstate 85 near Kannapolis for hours late Saturday. Two people have died in crashes, said Gov. Josh Stein, who urged people to stay home Sunday.
“We have a lot of miles of road in North Carolina, and it’s going to take some time,” Stein said during a press conference. “We’re asking for your patience.”
All 100 counties received snow, some in record amounts, so the N.C. Department of Transportation won’t be able to shift crews from one area to another. About 2,500 NCDOT workers and contractors are working on the roads Sunday, according to state Transportation Secretary Daniel Johnson
“The good news is that this was a cold, dry snow, which makes it easier to clear than the ice we saw last weekend,” Johnson said at the press conference. “We’re throwing everything we have at this. But it will take days in even the least-impacted areas to clear the roads. In some areas, it will be up to a week before secondary roads are clear.”
Sunday morning traffic was very light in Eastern North Carolina, and road crews hoped it would stay that way throughout the day, said Rhett Gerald, assistant maintenance engineer for the NCDOT division that covers eight counties, from Greenville to Morehead City.
“Our recommendation is to please stay at home if you can,” Gerald said Sunday morning. “It only helps us to do our job better. More traffic on these roads compresses that snow. Makes it harder for us to get rid of it before refreezing happens during the night.”
Road crews have a lot of work ahead of them, Gerald said.
“It’ll be several more days until we can get our routes into a condition where we feel it’s acceptable to have the public on them,” he said.
Road crews focus on the busiest highways before turning to lesser traveled roads and subdivisions. In the five-county NCDOT division that includes Orange and Alamance, NCDOT expects primary and interstate routes will be cleared by day’s end Sunday, said spokeswoman Jordan Campos.
Crews will then turn to secondary roads, Campos said. “We will try to get to those as soon as possible,” she said.
To see the latest road conditions, go to drivenc.gov/. And if you’re wondering if your road is maintained by the state or a local government, you can find a searchable map of state-maintained roads here: www.nconemap.gov/maps/NCDOT::ncdot-state-maintained-roads/explore.
Buses, trains and ferries also disrupted
Triangle transit systems parked their buses Saturday in anticipation of the storm. GoDurham, Chapel Hill Transit and GoTriangle say they will do the same Sunday.
GoRaleigh initially said it would begin running buses Sunday morning, but later decided to also suspend service all day.
Bus service will get a late start Monday. GoRaleigh and GoDurham will roll at 10 a.m., while GoTriangle will begin at noon. Chapel Hill Transit is scheduled to start Monday at 10 a.m., but routes F, G, CCX and 420 not run.
Piedmont passenger trains will operate a partial schedule Sunday. The Piedmont is scheduled to leave Raleigh toward Charlotte at 10 a.m. and 3:15 p.m., but the 6:30 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. trains are canceled. The southbound Carolinian due into Raleigh on Sunday evening on its way to Charlotte is also canceled.
The morning northbound Carolinian and the 10:25 a.m. and 5 p.m. Piedmont trains from Charlotte are also canceled. The 2:20 p.m. and 7:45 p.m. Piedmont trains from Charlotte are scheduled to leave on time.
At the coast, all state ferry service has been suspended Sunday, and N.C. 12 is closed on Hatteras Island.
This story was originally published February 1, 2026 at 9:43 AM.
