US: North Carolina declares state of emergency as storm persists Dec. 9-10 /update 3

Event

North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper declared a state of emergency on Sunday, December 9, as a winter storm continues to affect the region. The storm is forecast to continue to bring snow, ice, and freezing rain to large areas of North Carolina and Virginia, along with northeastern Georgia and northern South Carolina through the evening of Monday, December 10. At least 200,000 people are without power in North Carolina and around 1000 flights were canceled at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT) as of Sunday morning (local time). As of 15:30 on Sunday, the majority of departing flights at CLT remained canceled. Residual delays are likely to persist. Amtrak train service has also been suspended for areas south of Washington, DC until Tuesday, December 11.

The storm has brought 10-30 cm (4-12 in) of snow to North Carolina and Virginia and totals of 46 cm (18 in) are possible in some areas. Precipitation is expected to diminish through the rest of Sunday but resume overnight and into Monday morning. Western North Carolina, including Asheville, had received 20 cm (8 in) of snow as of noon on Sunday with an additional 7.5-15 cm (3-6 in) forecast along with ice over the coming hours. Snowfall totals of 10-20 cm (4-8 in) are forecast in central North Carolina, including Raleigh, and southwestern and south-central Virginia. Around 2.5-15 cm (1-6 in) of snow is expected along the Interstate-95 corridor, to include Richmond. Dangerous driving conditions and transportation disruptions are expected.

Advice

Individuals in the affected areas are advised to monitor local weather reports, maintain flexible travel itineraries, avoid unnecessary driving, and anticipate flight delays and cancelations, dangerous driving conditions, and power outages.