Snow began falling in parts of North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee on Thursday in a winter blast that closed school districts and prompted weather advisories affecting some 13 million people.
“North Carolina is about to feel this year’s first blast of winter weather,” North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said at a news briefing. “The state’s getting ready, and now is the time for you to get ready, too.”
The entire state of North Carolina was under winter weather advisories or warnings Thursday evening, according to the National Weather Service. Twenty-nine school districts in the state were closed and another 55 were on early release, Cooper said.
Around 1½ inches of snow fell in parts of Chatham County, west of Raleigh, and 2 inches in Gibsonville, which is east of Greensboro, as of around 7 p.m., the weather service said in a statement.
Farther west, more rain moved across central Mississippi, where heavy rainfall had swollen the Pearl River and flooded homes. The state’s emergency management agency said flooding closed several highways, and it was monitoring rising waters in Simpson County.
Johnny Lewis, who lives in the state capital of Jackson, was among those whose homse flooded. Every room took on water, and he has no flood insurance. “I lost everything I had, almost everything,” he told NBC affiliate WLBT of Jackson. “My grandson’s room, my daughter’s room, me and my wife’s room … is just a disaster,” he said.
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Flood warnings affected around 10 million people and covered areas from Louisiana and Arkansas to Georgia and South Carolina, according to weather service estimates.
As a batch of rainfall moved east Thursday, it was expected to clash with cold arctic air in the afternoon and evening and switch to snow that would fall in parts of Tennessee, South Carolina, North Carolina and Virginia.
The weather service issued winter weather alerts for about 13 million people in parts of Georgia, South Carolina, Virginia and almost all of North Carolina.
Warm ground temperatures could initially prevent snow from sticking, which could impact snow totals. The exact timing of the switch from rain to snow will also influence total snow accumulation.
The last time Charlotte, Raleigh and Norfolk picked up 1 inch or more of snow was 2018.
Cooper said the heaviest snowfall in North Carolina was expected in the northeastern part of the state, and whiteout conditions caused by snow and gusting winds were expected along the coast.
“Don’t let the temperature right now fool you,” he said Thursday. “It’s still winter in North Carolina.” The temperature in Charlotte was around 45 degrees shortly before 11 a.m.
He said the Department of Transportation and state police were prepared for the snow, and he asked residents to stay off the roads when conditions worsen. A state emergency operations center opened Thursday afternoon to help the response. Significant icing was not expected, Cooper said.
State troopers were positioned to be mobilized at a moment’s notice, North Carolina Highway Patrol commander Col. Glenn McNeill said, adding that driving conditions were expected to deteriorate overnight. “Motorists are encouraged to avoid travelling if at all possible,” he said.
Around 3,000 customers were without power northwest and west of Raleigh, around 2,000 were without power in the Southern Pines area, and 7,000 in the far western part of the state as of Thursday night, according to utility company Duke Energy’s website.
Around 2 inches of snow had fallen in the Newfound Gap in the Great Smoky Mountains on Tennessee’s eastern border, the weather service in Morristown said, and video showed snow falling in Gatlinburg, which is also in a mountainous area.
In Wakefield, Virginia, around 0.8 inches of snow had fallen as of late Thursday afternoon. A winter storm warning was in effect for the Norfolk area until 7 a.m. Friday. Between 2 to 4 inches of snow could be seen in the southeast part of the state.
The cold air is part of an arctic air mass engulfing much of the eastern half of the continental U.S.
