RALEIGH – Please stay off the roads in central and eastern North Carolina unless travel is absolutely necessary.
That’s the main message today from officials with the N.C. Department of Transportation after snow blanketed the state’s eastern half.
“We have significant amounts of snow and slick roads in areas of the state that don’t often see a lot of snowfall,” said state Transportation Secretary Joey Hopkins. “We’re working hard to clear our interstates and primary roads of snow and ice today. The sunshine will help melt some of this, but as temperatures are likely to remain below freezing for the next few nights many roads may remain unsafe for travel into the weekend. So please stay home and off the roads if at all possible.”
Per standard practice after winter weather hits, NCDOT crews and contractors have been out plowing snow-covered roads across the eastern half of North Carolina since snow started falling Tuesday and will continue working in shifts until all state-maintained roads are clear.
Nearly 2,000 NCDOT employees and contractors have been responding with trucks equipped with snow plows and salt spreaders today to clear roads from the Piedmont to the coast, with the hardest hit areas around Elizabeth City and the Outer Banks. Since snow began falling, crews have spread more than 953,000 gallons of brine and another 15,000 tons of salt.
The state’s second large winter storm of 2025 behaved uncharacteristically by dropping snow from trace amounts in the Charlotte and Triad areas to several inches in many eastern communities and more than 8 inches in some locations along the coast. Most mountain communities were not impacted by this storm.
NCDOT employees and contractors are making progress to clear interstates and primary roads such as U.S. and N.C. highways first, followed by the most heavily traveled secondary roads. Several NCDOT crews in the lesser-impacted western half of North Carolina loaded up their plows and spreader trucks Tuesday and Wednesday to help their colleagues in the east.
“We lean on each other in times of need,” Hopkins said. “Many of our folks impacted by Hurricane Helene are very happy to be able to repay some of the assistance they have received from other parts of the state over the past few months.”
Before the winter storm arrived, NCDOT and its contractors spread 2.8 million gallons of brine on roads. The saltwater solution helps prevent snow and ice from bonding with the road surface.
Anyone who must travel over the coming days is urged to take all precautions, including reduced speeds and safe following distances.
