Weather
NC Winter Storm Leaves 7,500 Without Power, Claims Three Lives
The Tar Heel state is digging out of an epic winter storm along the coast that dumped up to a foot of snow in some areas, forecasters say.
Across the state, more than 7,500 North Carolinians were still without power Thursday morning as parts of the state attempt to dig out of a massive winter storm blanketed parts of the south Wednesday. The majority of those power outages, according to state officials, are in central and eastern North Carolina, with the largest numbers in Currituck, Dare, Harnett, Pamlico, Rockingham and Wake counties.
The snow totals are starting to come in Thursday for North Carolina from the National Weather Service, which said parts of the state along the northeastern coast received as much as 8 inches to a foot of snow Jan. 3.
In a Thursday morning briefing, N.C. Governor Roy Cooper announced that three North Carolinians had died during the storm. The North Carolina State Highway Patrol responded to more than 1,000 calls since the storm began Wednesday, with more than 700 of them due to auto collisions, Cooper said.
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The bitterly cold temperatures will stay in the state through the weekend, which means hazardous driving conditions, such as black ice, will continue to be a concern for motorists, Cooper cautioned.
A winter weather advisory will stay in effect for central and eastern counties in North Carolina through Saturday, Jan. 6 at 7 a.m., according to the National Weather Service.
Find out what's happening in NoDa-Midwood-Belmontfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
SEE ALSO: Brewing Winter Storm Potentially Affects Charlotte Flights
While transportation crews attempted to clear some roads Wednesday evening, their efforts were not effective due to the temperature and winds, North Carolina Transportation Secretary James Trogdon said at the briefing. Primary roads throughout the state would have priority for clearing Thursday, with secondary roads becoming the focus Friday, he said.
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Images courtesy of the National Weather Service
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