Charlotte sees ‘an inch or so’ of snow, but overnight freezing will make roads messy

The snow fell on the Charlotte area for just a few hours Friday night, but temperatures continued to drop well below freezing, creating hazardous road conditions.

By 10:30 p.m., about “an inch or so of snow” had fallen on the Charlotte area as Winter Storm Jasper continued to move east across the region, meteorologist Patrick Moore of the National Weather Service office in Greer, S.C., told the Observer.

More than 100 flights canceled at Charlotte airport ahead of expected snow

Accumulations of 1 to 2 inches were expected, according to the NWS. An earlier weather bulletin warned drivers to the possibility of “patchy black ice ... on untreated roadways in the pre-dawn hours.”

At 11:30 p.m., the temperature in Charlotte had dropped to 26 degrees, with a wind chill of 18 degrees, according to the NWS.

With overnight temperatures expected as low as 20, snow can get compacted into a thin layer of ice and that can make untreated roads slippery and dangerous, Moore said.

Between 7:13 p.m. and 10:35 p.m. on Friday, at least 134 traffic incidents — most of them accidents or disabled vehicles — were reported, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police data show.

A winter weather advisory remains in effect for Mecklenburg and surrounding counties until 7 a.m. Saturday. Such advisories mean periods of snow will make driving difficult.

The snow was expected to move out of the Charlotte area between roughly midnight and 1 a.m. Saturday, but some places may pick up another inch or so, Moore said.

On Thursday, NWS forecasters downgraded expected snowfall totals to an inch or less, down from the 2 inches they forecast earlier in the week.

Jasper is the second winter storm to hit the area this week. Izzy brought a mix of snow and ice to the Charlotte area on Sunday.

CLT airport cancellations

By Friday night, 117 flights were canceled and 222 were delayed at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, according to FlightAware.com, which tracks flights at the nation’s airports. At least 18 flights had been canceled for Saturday.

Concord-Padgett Regional Airport shut down its runway just after 10:30 p.m. because of snow, according to its Twitter account.

“Crews are working diligently to reopen the runway as soon as possible,” the tweet said.

Power outages

At least 500 EnergyUnited customers in Gaston County reported outages as of 11:15 p.m.

There were no Duke Energy customers without power in Charlotte and Mecklenburg County, the utility’s map showed. However, about 78 customers had no electricity in the Hickory area.

Charlotte weather forecast

Sunshine should return on Saturday and stick around Sunday and Monday, before a chance of rain and snow showers emerges before 8 a.m. Tuesday according to the NWS forecast at 5 p.m. Friday.

A frigid high of 38 is forecast Saturday, before highs are predicted to climb a bit, to 45 Sunday and 48 Monday.

Emergency calls

In an emergency, call 911.

To handle non-emergency calls, 311 will stay active until 7 p.m. Friday and will reopen for business-hour calls on Monday.

School, sports schedules affected

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools, which moved to remote learning Friday because of the weather, said all athletics and extracurricular activities scheduled for Friday and Saturday will be postponed and rescheduled.

CMS students also will have Monday off, a previously scheduled teacher work day.

Cabarrus County and Union County schools also will postpone athletic events scheduled for Friday.

StarMed COVID testing sites

Charlotte-based StarMed Healthcare will only open four of its outdoor COVID testing locations on Saturday due to inclement weather in the forecast.

Each of site will open at 11 a.m. and close at 4 p.m., officials said.

The open locations are:

▪ 4001 Tuckaseegee Road in west Charlotte

▪ 6230 South Blvd. (CATS Archdale Park & Ride site)

▪ 9508 Northeast Court in Matthews

▪ 5344 Central Ave. (site of the former Eastland Mall)

StarMed closed all but two of its outdoor COVID testing sites on Friday due to the threat of icy roads.

The west Charlotte site at 4001 Tuckaseegee Road was scheduled to close at 6 p.m., officials said.

StarMed Healthcare’s Jacksonville location delayed testing until 10 a.m, and its New Bern site was closed due to the weather.

StarMed’s testing lab stayed open Friday, as did its patient call center, 704-941-6000.

Help for homeless

Charlotte homeless shelters will remain at expanded capacity through at least Sunday, according to a Mecklenburg County news release Friday morning.

Men can go to the Lucille Giles Men’s Shelter, 3410 Statesville Ave., starting at 4:30 p.m. Roof Above operated its Day Services Center starting at 9 a.m. and will keep it open until 4 p.m. Masks are required.

Women and families can seek shelter at the Salvation Army Center of Hope, 534 Spratt St.

Charlotte Area Transit System buses began offering free daytime rides to the shelters on Thursday and will continue free service through Sunday.

Riders just need to identify a shelter location to the driver.

Meck no longer in severe drought

Bouts of rain, snow and ice since last weekend provided enough precipitation to remove Mecklenburg County and other parts of the state from being in severe drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor map.

Mecklenburg and surrounding counties are now classified as being in moderate drought.

News editor Rogelio Aranda contributed.