North Carolina communities in Piedmont & Foothills prepare for wintry weather

CHARLOTTE, NC – “I just would like to see snow at some point, says Tekwan Price. Price moved from Asheville to Charlotte in 2023 and hasn’t seen snow since he came to Mecklenburg County.

“It’s freezing out here, so we might as well make something of it,” Price adds.

After three long years, we’re finally going to make something of it. The wintry weather won’t arrive until Friday afternoon, but officials in the Carolinas have already prepared to give it a warm welcome.

NCDOT crews have been working around the clock since Wednesday morning, dumping 100,000 gallons of salt brine on roads across the state in an effort to keep them from freezing over during Friday’s storm.

And once it starts snowing, the plows will get going.

“We wait for it to accumulate and start placing salt on the roadways,” explains North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) engineer Garret Ratcliffe.

“Once the salt is applied and starts doing its job melting the snow, we’ll start plowing it out of the roadways and get it back onto the shoulders,” Ratcliffe explains.

“We’re going to be working in continuous 12-hour shifts, so we’re going to be working nonstop until the event is over and all state-maintained routes are cleared,” adds Mike Mariano, another engineer with NCDOT.

It may be more of a mixed bag in the Metro, but farther to the north in Alexander County, the snow could quickly pile up to four inches.

“Our local school system, Alexander County Schools, they are on a remote learning day,” says Gary Herman, an Alexander County official, “So, that’ll keep the buses off the roadways and keep the children at home safely.”

And officials are encouraging you to do the same.

“We encourage people once the winter storm gets underway to please just stay home. That takes such a load off of our emergency personnel,” Herman says.

But it’d be an understatement to say the kids are excited.

Henry Pitman and his mom, Elizabeth, can’t wait for the white stuff.

“We’ve got groceries, we’re ready to stay inside and play in the snow,” says Elizabeth.

And local restaurants are hoping to cash in on those looking for a hot meal.

“We usually get a lot of neighborhood traffic when it’s snowy, like for the weekend, brunch, and everything,” says Russell Fergusson, a partner with Dish Restaurant in Plaza Midwood.

“So, it can be a positive.”

But the memories to be made on Friday will be priceless.

“We’re excited about it,” beams Fergusson.

“We’ll get the neighbor kids together and see if we can get a little track going down the street.”