Charlotte will get a whopping 8 inches of snow with wind chills below 0 degrees, travel will be slippery and dangerous
Massive snowfall is expected to impact Charlotte, NC and much of North Carolina to South Carolina this weekend, starting January 31, 2026 around 3 to 5 a.m. The snow will disrupt the daily life of people for several days. The governor has declared a State of Emergency for North Carolina. Follow Charlotte Alerts on Instagram.
A snow vortex also known as polar vortex will hit North Carolina and South Carolina on Saturday morning, the snow will last for 16 plus hours straight. The snow will start in the mountains and the cold air from there will meet with the cold air from the south mixed with the wet air from the ocean, creating a winter snow vortex in the sky. There was already a snow storm last week in Charlotte with ice accumulations.
The total of all three will form massive snow fall in North and South Carolina east of I-26. Due to anticipated weather conditions this weekend, the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) will operate on a Sunday schedule tomorrow, Saturday, Jan. 31, for bus and Blue Line.
Gold Line service will be suspended. CATS Micro and STS service are planning to operate as normal, but customers should be aware snowfall may impact road conditions and delays or suspensions may be necessary to ensure safe transport.
Gusty winds will reduce visibility, may create localized blizzard conditions and will increase the threat for isolated to scattered power outages. In addition, wind gusts will cause moderate locally significant coastal flooding and ocean over wash along the NC coast.
As of Friday morning, about 1,400 NCDOT employees had spread more than 2.6 million gallons of brine on interstates, highways, and other well traveled roads state wide.
NCDOT workers will regroup and then be ready to start treating snow and ice once the storm arrives. NCDOT will also have chainsaw crews ready to respond to calls to cut and remove downed trees from roads and assist utilities when trees become entangled in power lines.
The agency will work in 12 hour shifts until all state maintained roads are cleared. NCDOT and State Highway Patrol activated immediate towing statewide which is a North Carolina law that allows officials to immediately tow abandoned or disabled vehicles from roads and shoulders to protect other drivers and enable emergency responders and transportation crews to do their work.
