Charlotte snow total now may hit 13 inches. Roads are a mess, and CLT delays mount

Charlotte could see 7 to 13 inches of snow This weekend, updated National Weather Service maps showed Saturday afternoon. The weather was already wreaking havoc in the air – More than 1,100 flight disruptions CLT with State Highway Patrol at the airport and on the ground 340 wrecks are being attended to until noon.

NWS meteorologist Mike Rehnberg said the all-time snowfall in Charlotte was 14 inches on Feb. 15, 1902. He said the 13 inches requested for this weekend won’t affect the entire field, just spots here and there.

A light snow covered the area on Saturday morning. The area is likely to receive 5 to 9 inches by Saturday evening and 2 to 4 inches by late Saturday and early Sunday before the system gives way to sunny skies, the forecast calls for. By Saturday afternoon the snow had intensified and areas of freezing fog were possible.

“Heavy snowfall is expected today” peak period Just after 7:30 a.m., Mecklenburg, Union, Gaston and Lincoln counties could see the most snow, including Lake Norman, according to an NWS post on channel X. “Travel will become dangerous,” NWS meteorologists said.

But be wary of “dangerously cold wind chills as low as 5 below zero,” which can result in hypothermia or frostbite if precautions are not taken. Extreme Cold Monitoring. The time will be valid from Saturday 19.00 to Sunday 10.00.

weather pattern known as bombogenesisor a bomb tornado located 6 to 9 miles above the atmosphere rapidly intensifyingAccording to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Forecasters said Saturday’s high temperature stalled at 20 degrees, but it would feel colder with winds up to 30 mph. According to the NWS, the low temperature Saturday night could be around 12 degrees, while wind chill could range from 0 to minus 5.

The NWS said “wind chill values ​​were forecast to drop as low as -1” at the airport on Sunday. The coolness of the wind tells how cold is the weather It is “based on the rate of heat loss through exposed skin caused by wind and cold,” NWS forecasters said.

“As wind increases, heat is withdrawn from the body, causing skin temperature and eventually core body temperature to decrease,” according to the NWS. “So the wind feels a lot colder.”

‘There are a lot of accidents in Mecklenburg County’

Heavy snow bands affected Mecklenburg and Cabarrus County roads the most, NCDOT Division 10 maintenance engineer Michael Mariano said at an afternoon news conference.

Mariano said 66 NCDOT trucks and 129 contract trucks will plow the roads until the snow is gone.

“We’ve seen a lot of crashes in Mecklenburg County,” he said, mainly caused by drivers “traveling at unsafe speeds.” “Stay home if possible.”

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police said call 311 for non-life-threatening situations and 911 for life- and property-threatening issues and crimes in progress.

CMS cancels activities, flights on CLT are postponed, CATS suspends service

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools canceled all field trips and athletic events and closed all schools and other buildings through Sunday.

Charlotte Area Transit System will stop bus services at 3pm on Saturday and Blue Line light rail service at 5pm on Saturday. The last Blue Line train will leave the Interstate 485 Station at 4:30 pm and the UNC Charlotte Station at 5 pm.

The last bus routes will depart from the Charlotte Transportation Center at 3 p.m.

CATS announced that bus and Blue Line services will restart at 10 a.m. Sunday and stop at midnight. Gold Line and CATS Micro services will be suspended due to road conditions.

At Charlotte Douglas International Airport, 1,100 incoming and outgoing flights It was delayed or canceled until 5pm on Saturday, according to flight tracking site Flight Aware.com.

From midnight to noon, North Carolina State Highway Patrol 340 wrecks were attended to, none of them were fataland 370 calls for service statewide.

Medic has responded to 33 crashes since midnight, including a collision at Arrowood Road and Whitehall Executive Park Drive that sent two people to hospital with life-threatening injuries.

Hit by a vehicle Long Creek Fire Department Huntersville Fire Department Engine 10 at the scene of the crash on I-485 in Charlotte reported. No one was injured.

He showed the cars in the video on social media it’s getting out of control after police released them around a wreck on Independence Boulevard.

Light snow began falling in Monroe shortly after 3:30 a.m., turning to sleet around 4:40 a.m. and soon turning back to snow, Monroe Police Lt. Catherine Hower said.

In Belmont, police reported “extremely dangerous” road conditions and numerous crashes. Police called: “Please stay at home if possible.” Police added video showing poor visibility on Interstate 85.

A train crashed into a semitractor trailer at Poplar Street and Airline Boulevard in Gastonia. “Luckily, no one was injured, the driver managed to get out of the vehicle,” police said on social media.

A few interruptions due to snow

Duke Energy reports uncommon weather-related outages Saturday at 11 a.m. in the Charlotte area. According to the provider’s outage map, crews are working to restore power to approximately 13 customers scattered across the city for a variety of reasons.

Charlotte’s last notable snowfall — 3.5 inch — dropped on January 17, 2018, exclusive AccuWeather reported.

The city experienced one of the largest snowfalls in history (13.2 inches) in late February 2004. 8.5 inches of snow fell in January 2003, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.

mostly in the mountains Blue Ridge Parkway It remained closed Saturday, rangers said. The parkway is open in Asheville from the Public Art Center to milepost 382 to Highway 25 (Hendersonville Road), milepost 388.8.

All the roads in Great Smoky Mountains National Park They are closed except for the 5-mile-long Spur that connects Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, Tenn. “The crew is actively clearing the Spur, but it’s still icy!” Rangers said the following on social media. “Please drive very carefully.”

Charlotte forecast

Charlotte has something 100% chance of heavy snowfall The NWS forecast showed a high of 26 on Saturday.

The lowest temperature is expected to be 11 degrees at the end of Saturday and early Sunday, and 9 degrees at the end of Sunday and early Monday.

The forecast calls for sunny Sunday and Monday with highs of 32 and 38 degrees respectively. Partly sunny on Tuesday, the highest temperature is expected to be 44.

The forecast showed there was a 50% chance of rain and snow from 7am to 9am on Wednesday, with a 50% chance of rain after 9am. There is a 50% chance of rain and snow on Thursday from 01.00 to 04.00, after 4 in the morning there is a chance of snow, and during the day the chance of snow drops to 30%.

Thursday and Friday will be mostly sunny with highs of 40 and 48 degrees, respectively.

Reporter Amber Gaudet contributed.