Snow Blankets Much Of North Carolina

This story has been updated at 6:16 p.m.

A winter storm blanketed parts of North Carolina and Virginia with snow early Saturday as its slow march across the Southeast left grocery store shelves empty and roads icy and impassible.

A National Weather Service map showed the snowfall seemed to follow the Interstate 85 corridor through the state, with locations along and north of the highway receiving snow, and areas to the south getting rain and sleet.

Burlington and Roxboro in central North Carolina received 8 inches or more of snow. Preliminary figures from the National Weather Service in Greer, South Carolina, showed snowfall totals reached up to 10 inches in at least seven locations, including Greensboro and High Point, Lewisville in Forsyth County, and Lenoir and Rhodhiss in Caldwell County.

North Carolina reported more than 250 crashes.

Police investigated several fatal crashes as potentially storm-related, but some of the South's biggest cities — Atlanta, Charlotte and Raleigh — appeared to avoid the worst of the storm. Authorities praised residents for learning the lessons of past storms that resulted in icy gridlock, where thousands of people were stranded along the interstates. But officials warned that bitter cold would keep roads treacherous well after the snow and sleet stopped.

"If I tell you anything it would be stay home," North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper said. "Do not go out and drive on the roads unless you absolutely have to."

At least two deaths are being blamed on the weather. In Kentucky, a man was killed when his pickup truck went off a snow-slickened Kentucky road Thursday. In Georgia, a 20-year-old Georgia State University student was killed after his SUV crashed on Interstate 75 in Monroe County. Motorist deaths in North Carolina and Maryland as the storm blew in were being investigated to see if they were caused by the weather.

Power outages had grown to about 25,000 in North Carolina alone, according to a news release from the governor. By sunset on Saturday, the number had dwindled to just below 2,400.

The unpredictable storm left some areas with much different outcomes than neighboring counties. Unofficial totals from the National Weather Service showed that much of Raleigh and Charlotte had 2 inches or less of precipitation — much of it sleet — while areas to the north of both cities got several inches of snow.

In Atlanta and parts of Georgia, people who were expecting a couple of inches of snow instead woke up to a thin coat of ice. The National Weather Service said a wind chill advisory for northern Georgia was to go into effect later Saturday into Sunday. Residents should brace for bitterly cold air and strong wind.

Along the Outer Banks in North Carolina, snow wasn't a problem, but high winds forced officials to cancel ferry service. Wind gusts of up to 60 mph were reported.

"There are quite a few disappointed residents here who were hoping to see a few inches of snow on the sand, maybe take a ride on their bodyboards down Jockey's Ridge," said Sam Walker III, news director for Max Radio and the Outer Banks Voice. "Instead, it's just been another typical, windy, wet and cold nor'easter on the Outer Banks."

Some took to social media to complain that they didn't have anything to sled in, prompting an apologetic Tweet from one well-known Raleigh weatherman.

"To all my detractors, more than 24 hours ago I began talking about how this snow event could go up in smoke. I try to be honest-all I can do," WRAL-TV chief meteorologist Greg Fishel said early Saturday.

The men's basketball game between the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and N.C. State University scheduled for Saturday night was postponed because of the winter weather and potential for hazardous driving conditions. The game was rescheduled for Sunday at 1 p.m.