Charlotte could see 7 to 13 inches of snow this weekend, updated National Weather Service maps showed Saturday afternoon. The weather was already wreaking havoc in the air — with more than 1,100 flight disruptions at CLT Airport — and on the ground, with the state highway patrol handling 340 wreckages by noon.
Charlotte’s all-time snowfall record is 14 inches, set on Feb. 15, 1902, NWS meteorologist Mike Rehnberg said. The 13 inches called for this weekend wouldn’t touch the entire area, just spots here and there, he said.
A light snow blanketed the region on Saturday morning. The region could get 5 to 9 inches by Saturday night and 2 to 4 inches late Saturday and early Sunday before the system gives way to sunny skies, the forecast said. Snow became heavy by Saturday afternoon and areas of freezing fog were possible.
“Significant snow is expected today, with the heaviest occurring this morning across the region,” according to an NWS post on X. Just after 7:30 a.m., Mecklenburg, Union, Gaston and Lincoln counties could see the heaviest snow, including Lake Norman, the NWS map showed. “Travel will become hazardous,” NWS forecasters said.
However, watch out for “dangerously cold wind chills as low as 5 below zero” that could lead to hypothermia or frostbite if precautions are not taken,” according to the Extreme Cold Watch. The watch will be in effect from 7:00 p.m. Saturday until 10:00 a.m. Sunday.
The weather pattern is known as a bombogenesis, or bomb cyclone, located 6 to 9 miles up in the rapidly intensifying atmosphere, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Snow begins to blanket Charlotte’s NoDa neighborhood on Saturday, January 31, 2026.
(Melissa Oyler/moyler@charlotteobserver.com)
Saturday’s high hovered around 20 degrees, but it will feel colder with gusts up to 30 mph, forecasters said. The low could be around 12 degrees Saturday night, with wind chills of 0 to minus 5, according to the NWS.
At the airport, “wind chill values as low as -1” are forecast Sunday, the NWS said. Wind chill describes how cold the weather feels “based on the rate of heat loss from exposed skin caused by wind and cold,” NWS forecasters said.
“As the wind increases, it draws heat from the body, lowering the skin temperature and ultimately the internal body temperature,” according to the NWS. “Therefore, the wind makes it feel much colder.”
“Lots of accidents in Mecklenburg County”
Heavy bands of snow hit roads in Mecklenburg and Cabarrus the worst, NCDOT Division 10 maintenance engineer Michael Mariano said at an afternoon news conference.
Sixty-six NCDOT trucks and 129 contract trucks will plow the roads until the snow ends, Mariano said.
“We’ve seen a lot of accidents in Mecklenburg County,” mainly due to drivers “traveling at unsafe speeds,” he said. “Stay home if possible.”
Call 311 for non-life-threatening situations and 911 for life- and property-threatening issues and crimes in progress, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said.
CMS cancels activities, flights delayed at CLT, CATS suspends service
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools canceled all field trips and sporting events and closed all schools and other buildings through Sunday.
The Charlotte Area Transit System will suspend bus service at 3:00 PM on Saturday and Blue Line light rail service at 5:00 PM on Saturday. The last Blue Line train will leave Interstate 485 Station at 4:30 PM and UNC Charlotte Station at 5:00 PM
Final bus routes will depart from the Charlotte Transportation Center at 3:00 p.m
Charlotte could see 6 to 11 inches of snow this weekend, updated National Weather Service maps showed Saturday morning, Jan. 31, 2026.
(National Meteorological Service)
Bus and Blue Line service will resume at 10 a.m. Sunday and will be suspended at midnight, CATS said. Gold Line and CATS Micro service will remain suspended due to road conditions.
At Charlotte Douglas International Airport, more than 1,100 arriving and departing flights were delayed or canceled as of 5 p.m. Saturday, according to flight tracking website Flight Aware.com.
From midnight to noon, the North Carolina State Highway Patrol responded to 340 wrecks, none fatal, and 370 calls for service nationwide.
Medic responded to 33 wrecks since midnight, including a collision at Arrowood Road and Whitehall Executive Park Drive that hospitalized two people with life-threatening injuries.
A vehicle struck Long Creek Fire Department Engine 10 at the scene of the crash on I-485 in Charlotte, the Huntersville Fire Department reported. No one was injured.
Video on social media showed cars skidding out of control after police pulled them over around a wreck on Independence Boulevard.
In Monroe, light snow began falling shortly after 3:30 a.m., changed to sleet around 4:40 a.m. and soon returned to snow, Lt. Catherine Hower of the Monroe Police Department.
In Belmont, police reported “extremely dangerous” road conditions and multiple collisions. “Please stay at home if you can,” police urged. Police added video of low visibility on Interstate 85.
In Gastonia, a train hit a semi-tractor trailer at Poplar Street and Airline Avenue. “Fortunately, without injury, the driver was able to get out,” police posted on social media.
The driver of a semi-tractor trailer escaped injury when a train hit the platform at Poplar Street and Airline Avenue during a snowstorm Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026.
(Gastonia Police Department)
Few interruptions due to snow
Duke Energy reported no widespread weather-related outages in the Charlotte area as of 11 a.m. Saturday. Crews are working to restore power to about 13 customers scattered around the city for various reasons, according to the provider’s outage map.
Charlotte’s last significant snowfall — 3.5 inches — fell on Jan. 17, 2018, AccuWeather reported.
The city experienced one of its heaviest snowfalls on record — 13.2 inches — in late February 2004. In January 2003, 8.5 inches fell, The Charlotte Observer previously reported.
In the mountains, most of the Blue Ridge Parkway remained closed Saturday, Rangers said. The Parkway is open in Asheville from the Folk Art Center, milepost 382, to Highway 25 (Hendersonville Road), milepost 388.8.
All roads in Great Smoky Mountains National Park are closed except for the Spur, a 5-mile stretch connecting Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg, Tennessee. “Teams are actively clearing the Spur, but it remains frozen!” the Rangers said on social media. “Please drive with extreme caution.”
That’s what severe frostbite can do to fingers exposed to cold temperatures for too long, experts say. Charlotte’s snowstorm will be accompanied by dangerously cold temperatures.
Charlotte forecast
Charlotte has a 100 percent chance of heavy snow Saturday, with a high of 26, the NWS forecast showed.
A low of 11 degrees is forecast late Saturday and early Sunday and 9 degrees late Sunday and early Monday.
All the sun is expected Sunday and Monday, with highs of 32 and 38, respectively, the forecast says. Tuesday should be partly sunny, with a high of 44.
Wednesday has a 50 percent chance of rain and snow from 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. with a chance of rain after 9 a.m., the forecast says. Rain and snow have a 50 percent chance of falling again from 1 a.m. to 4 a.m. Thursday and snow after 4 a.m., with the chance of snow falling to 30 percent during the day.
Thursday and Friday should be mostly sunny, with highs of 40 and 48, respectively.
Reporter Amber Gaudet contributed.