CURRITUCK, N.C. — Though we don't exactly know what this weekend is going to bring with the weather, that's not stopping North Carolina Department of Transportation crews from getting ahead of it. N.C. Gov. Josh Stein said in a press conference Thursday morning that the majority of the state will be impacted and everyone should be ready.
"Really it's only the far east where there may not be freezing rain or sleet or snow, but pretty much all of the rest of us need to be on alert," said Stein.
Stein addressed North Carolinians Thursday morning alongside state leaders, encouraging everyone to have a plan, enough food and essentials to get them through this weekend, and encouraging drivers to stay off the roads unless absolutely necessary.
Though northeast North Carolina might be spared the brunt of the winter weather this weekend, Stein and state leaders are reaffirming their commitment to being prepared and encouraging residents to be as well.
"None of us can control what this storm will ultimately look like, but each of us can get prepared," said Stein.
Emergency management officials across northeast North Carolina hometowns are encouraging the same. On the road in Currituck County on Thursday, News 3 saw NCDOT doing just that.
"Originally there was some bands that we might have some snow Friday. So we wanted to prepare for the worst, always," said Caleb Sawyer, the NCDOT maintenance engineer for Camden, Currituck and Pasquotank counties.
Right now, that means typical brine pretreatment on primary roads Thursday and secondary roads Friday, just to be safe for whatever comes our way.
"That brine hopefully drops the melting point of the snow to hopefully keep it from freezing up and having further issues," said Sawyer.
Even with the uncertainty of the weather in northeast North Carolina, NCDOT crews are prepared to help out wherever they can.
"Within our division, we've got 14 counties, we're all closely aligned, we all help each other out. So right now, east of 17 is not looking as bad, west of 17 is looking like it might get a little more ice, a little more snow. We have meetings daily, we're in constant communication. Whoever needs the help, we're always on call to be there for them and that also extends to the western parts of the state as well. If they get hit harder and we get everything cleaned up here, we'll be there to help them as well," said Sawyer.
