North Carolina officials are expecting what they call "a major winter storm" to last into Monday morning, with impacts expected to linger for days.
"Stay home. Stay warm. Stay off the roads," Gov. Josh Stein said.
Stein and emergency management officials expect another band of wintery weather to pass through the state overnight. Their major concerns remain dangerous travel and the potential for power outages, both of which could be caused by ice accumulations from a mixture of sleet and freezing rain.
N.C. State Highway Patrol deputies responded to more than 400 car crashes during the storm, Stein said, and have cleared 339 abandoned cars off of the state's highways.
Road conditions are expected to remain dangerous into early next week, Stein said, with whatever snow and ice has fallen thawing during the day and then refreezing when temperatures dip below freezing overnight.
That will mean black ice, Stein said, particularly on secondary roads that aren't treated by DOT officials.
"If you have to drive, drive much slower than normal. Give more distance than normal so you have more time to respond. Do not make sharp turns or (come to) a sudden stop," Stein said.
There are 2,500 DOT employees working, with 1,300 trucks and 1,000 contractors focusing on interstates and four-lane highways. Those crews have spread 32,000 tons of salt, N.C. Secretary of Transportation Daniel Johnson said, with the number expected to climb throughout the day.
Johnson also noted that drivers should be especially cautious on smaller state-maintained roads.
"It may be days before some of those secondary routes become passable," Johnson said.
The state's ferry system is operating, Johnson said, but all rail travel has been canceled.
The N.C. National Guard has deployed more than 100 groups of troops across the state.
There are 50 warming stations and 45 shelters open statewide. Stein urged people who are in need of their services to contact their local governments.
What to do if your power goes out
As of early Sunday afternoon, there were 17,448 customers in North Carolina without power, including 8,993 in Transylvania County in the state's southwestern corner.
"That number is going to go both up and down over the course of the day as more folks lose power and as our utility partners work hard to restore power," Stein said.
Most of the other outages are concentrated in western North Carolina, which is expected to see the most significant weather later Sunday and into Monday.
In anticipation of potential power outages, Stein said, people should know where their flashlights are and make sure that their cell phones and other important devices are charged.
If someone loses power, Stein said, they should contact their electric utility immediately to inform them of the outage.
Stein also urged people without power to keep their doors and windows closed to retain warm air and to wear extra layers of clothing.
"Pay attention to your physical conditions," Stein said. "We don't want people getting frost bit. We do not want hypothermia. If you have loss of feeling or color in your fingers, if there's uncontrolled shivering or disorientation, you should call 911."
Federal assistance approved
North Carolina has also received an emergency declaration from President Donald Trump, which would allow the state to call on resources to respond to storm conditions. That could include things like U.S. Forest Service chainsaw crews to help clear downed trees or generators to keep shelters warm in the case of power outages, among other examples.
As of Sunday at noon, the state had not called upon those resources, said Justin Graney, a N.C. Emergency Management spokesman.
"We do have federal resources that are staged in state and we have FEMA here present in the Emergency Operations Center," Graney said.
If North Carolina does call on those resources, it would be responsible for 25% of the cost while the federal government would bear the remaining 75%.
