Updated 3:17 p.m.
While Charlotte is expecting only about an inch of snow through Saturday afternoon, areas to the north of Mecklenburg County will likely see a few inches.
The National Weather Service says Hickory and Statesville are expected to get two to four inches of snow. The flakes are expected to continue falling through Saturday morning. And Saturday afternoon there could be some more snow and rain.
The National Weather service reports between four and seven inches have already fallen in parts of Western North Carolina. And more is likely coming.
Governor Roy Cooper warned North Carolinans to prepare for the unexpected.
“We know that winter weather in the South is notoriously difficult to predict, and forecasts can change in a matter of hours," he said in a statement Friday morning.
The North Carolina Department of Transportation has crews out on interstates and in mountain areas. State Highway Patrol troopers in central and western North Carolina are prepared and ready to respond where needed.
“We expect that our counties will be able to handle these conditions without any additional resources,” said State Emergency Management Director Mike Sprayberry. “But we are monitoring the situation closely and stand ready to assist should conditions change.”
School systems in several counties in the western part of the state were closed today and others had a delayed opening.
Updated 3:00 p.m.
Utility officials are reporting more than 10,000 power outages in North Carolina as a winter storm blows in.
Duke Energy data showed that at least 10,800 customers were without electricity by early Friday afternoon.
Buncombe County in the western part of the state had about 2,900 outages, while Forsyth County to the east had 2,300. In the mountains, Macon and Mitchell counties had about 1,000 outages each.
Up to six inches of snow has been forecast for the western part of the state, while parts of central North Carolina could get 1-2 inches of frozen precipitation.