As recovery from a historic ice storm continues across parts of the South, a dangerous winter weather threat is unfolding along the East Coast as a powerful bomb cyclone is bringing blizzard conditions to portions of the Carolinas and southern Virginia this weekend. A swath of 12-16 inches of snow stretched from Charlotte to High...
People on the Outer Banks are seeing near blizzard conditions, while snow is accumulating and shutting down travel from Virginia through South Carolina. Flurries have been reported as far south as Florida.
Heavy snow and powerful winds blast through the sandy beaches in Kitty Hawk as a major winter storm brings dangerous conditions to eastern North Carolina. As recovery from a historic ice storm continues across parts of the South, a dangerous winter weather threat is unfolding along the East Coast as a powerfulA swath of 12-16 inches of snow stretched from Charlotte to High Point in North Carolina. The highest report, a total of 17.7 inches of snow, was reported in Longwood, in western Brunswick County on the southeast coast. Although amounts were generally lower in Tennessee, South Carolina and Virginia, spots in those states reported a foot of snow. With 11 inches of snow, Charlotte, North Carolina saw the fourth-highest 1-day snowfall in the city's history. The storm comes as thousands across the South, including the Nashville area, remain without power after an ice storm knocked out electricity to more than a million customers and was blamed for dozens of deaths tied to extreme cold. More than 100,000 customers are still without power across A bomb cyclone hits bringing heavy snow in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States on January 31, 2026. Snow began to fall across the region Friday night, with accumulations ramping up as snow intensified on Saturday night., South Carolina. Traffic was still moving, but slowed down considerably with some vehicles only traveling at 15 mph due to the snow. Near Spartanburg, South Carolina, Dr. Reed Timmer shows deteriorating travel on I-85 amid heavy snow, with 6–9 inches forecast and stronger winds developing toward the coast later today., Virginia. The main road on the Outer Banks, NC 12, has been shut down due to the storm. It is unclear when the road will reopen. Neptune rises strongly against the windy, snowy elements as he stands guard over the Virginia Beach Boardwalk on Jan. 31, 2026. By Saturday night, winter conditions had contributed to 750 crashes in North Carolina, according to state troopers. Northeast of Charlotte a more than 100-vehicle crash shutdown parts of Interstate 85 in Kannapolis. Snow and freezing temperatures slowed the clean up, and the National Guard was called into assist clearing the highway. The National Guard responded to a massive crash on Interstate 85 in North Carolina on Jan. 31, 2026, during a snowstorm. Out on the coast, parts of Carteret County had picked up several inches of snow by Saturday evening with reports of 5 to 7 inches coming from the National Weather Service Morehead City, which forecasts for the Outer Banks. Here is a glimpse of our office during the peak of the winter storm overnight. Observed snow depth was 10 inches as of midnight, measured in a wooded area protected by the wind, but drifts in the parking lot are over two feet high!The NWS reported near white out conditions in Cape Carteret Saturday evening. By Sunday morning, the Newport NWS office recorded 15 inches. “Travel treacherous and potentially life-threatening especially if you become stranded,” the NWS said on X."When I tell people that I'm going to be on the Outer Banks, I certainly don't expect it to be for snow, I expect for it to be for a tropical system," Storm Chaser Aaron Rigsby said while reporting from the North Carolina coast on Saturday morning. Numerous accidents have been reported on snowy South Carolina roads."Road conditions across the Upstate are steadily worsening, and weather-related incidents are piling up fast," South Carolina Highway Patrol Community Relations Officer Mitchell Ridgeway said."Stay home if at all possible." Flurries were reported at airports as far south as the Florida Panhandle on Saturday, including Jacksonville, Tallahassee, and Marianna. Snowflakes were also reported on the Gulf Coast of Florida north of Tampa at Hernando and Citrus. Road conditions across the Upstate are steadily worsening, and weather-related incidents are piling up fast. Stay home if at all possible. Don’t end up like this motorist., but it will remain dangerously cold, as temperatures will stay in the teens and 20s through Sunday. Icy roads and hazardous conditions are expected to persist, further delaying power restoration efforts. Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell said three people died in the city due to the storm. “We know that too many Nashvillians will remain without power coming into another storm this weekend,” O’Connell said, encouraging those affected to seek alternative shelter before temperatures plunge again. A Nashville Electric Service lineman works to repair damaged power lines days after a severe winter storm, Jan. 30, 2026. A pre-season NASCAR race scheduled for this weekend at Bowman Gray Stadium in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, has been postponed to Monday due to the snowstorm and bitterly cold air. “The number one concern is always the safety of our competitors and our fans getting to and from the track,”senior director of marketing services Justin Swilling said. “And in consulting with the North Carolina Department of Transportation this morning and the City of Winston-Salem, we didn’t feel a Sunday schedule was best suited anymore."Cape Hatteras National Seashore, where 27 homes have collapsed since 2022 due to coastal erosion. Sixteen of those collapses occurred between September and October 2025 in the Buxton and Rodanthe communities.Snow in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on Jan. 31, 2026. Across the I-95 corridor and much of the Northeast, strong winds, coastal flooding and beach erosion are the primary concerns with this system. New York Waterway ferries move as ice floats on the Hudson River seen from the Edge sky deck at Hudson Yards, Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026, in New York. New York City, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C., may miss out on accumulating snow, as those areas continue to clean up after last week’s winter storm dumped the most snow many locations have received in about five years.As the sun came up on Sunday, preliminary estimates for this new storm place total damage and economic loss between $13 to $15 billion. “This bomb cyclone is the latest costly setback amid a relentless stretch of cold, snowy, icy and dangerous winter weather,” AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist Jonathan Porter said. “Some communities have been struggling to clean up and fully rebound from last weekend’s massive winter storm. Now they’re dealing with more costly disruptions and shutdowns. Dangerous cold that surged deeper into Florida is putting more crops and citrus groves at risk, driving losses even higher.”
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