North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper has signed an emergency order and his administration urged people to stay at home after weather forecasters predicted a “dangerous” winter storm with snow and ice as far south as Georgia.
At a news conference on Saturday, Cooper said “the storm’s a menace.”
“As much as a foot of snow is expected to fall in the mountains and foothills, and in central North Carolina, freezing rain and sleet on top of some snow will fall,” he added.
The state highway agency warned that labor shortages meant crews might not respond to problems areas as quickly as usual.
The National Weather Service said from 2 inches to 5 inches of snow could fall as far south as northeast Georgia from Saturday evening through Sunday.
Power outages and travel problems were likely to be made all the worse by an additional coating of ice and winds gusting to 35 mph.
Snow accumulations could reach 8 inches in the highest areas.
