Watch sleet beginning to accumulate on Interstate 77 making for a slippery cold drive
The January 2026 winter storm is beginning. Sleet is falling right now on I-77 near the mile marker 33 section. The sleet started at 9 p.m. Follow Charlotte Alerts on Instagram.
Affected roads will freeze over very quickly. The storm is expected to dump less than an inch of snow on Charlotte between midnight January 25th to early January 26th. The wintry mix will include brief snow showers, sleet, and freezing rain. Snow in Charlotte has came over the years, we have footage of it all.
Ice is expected to accumulate and buildup on power lines, roof tops, and roads. Roads will be slippery, but only a half inch of ice is expected to accumulate. This will not be a big storm, but there will be ice patches on roads.
The Gold Line Streetcar service will be suspended Saturday, Jan. 24 and Sunday, Jan. 25 due to the anticipated winter storm impacting the area this weekend. Predicted road conditions would not allow for safe travel along the streetcar.
Storm impacts could include hazardous driving conditions, especially on bridges and overpasses, damage to tree limbs from ice accumulation, and power outages that have the potential to be long lasting.
Ensure generators are operated outside and away from open windows or doors to prevent carbon monoxide poisoning. Never burn charcoal indoors or use a gas grill indoors. Properly vent kerosene heaters. Use battery-powered sources for light, instead of candles, to reduce the risk of fire.
More than 1,600 NCDOT crews and contractors have been pre-treating roads, restocking salt supplies and getting ready for the storm. Crews had placed more than 800,000 gallons of brine to pre-treat thousands of miles of state maintained roads across North Carolina.
The state agency will continue to monitor the storm’s expected impacts to roads and is ready to work around the clock in shifts to plow and treat snow and ice until state maintained roads are cleared. Chainsaw crews will be deployed to cut and remove downed trees and debris from roads and work with utilities when downed trees involve power lines.
