ABC11 Eyewitness News - Eyewitness News at 11pm - January 31, 2026

Episode Date: February 1, 2026

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Right now, live coverage from your local news leader, preparing you for tomorrow starting tonight and your first alert forecast. Here's what's happening where you live. This is ABC 11 eyewitness news. The snow is falling in every corner of our state tonight. Our live crew out on the roads in Durham or several inches have blanketed the Bull City. Out west and Boone, the streets are empty as the snow continues falling. And on the coast, blizzard conditions there at Topsel Beach where the wind is. is whipping the snow around in the air. And to the east, Rocky Mount is also buried under a thick layer of snow. Hi, everyone, thanks for joining us here after the game.

For eyewitness news, I'm Steve Daniels. And I'm Lauren Johnson. We're just starting to get some snow totals in. Some of you saw almost six inches of snowfall. Yeah, our first alert day coverage continues now with our crews spread out across the viewing area as the snow shows no sign of slowing down quite yet. We'll check head with them in just a moment.

But let's begin with big weather. Don is here to show us how much longer the snow is going to last. And it's going to be around a couple more in spots. We'll talk about that in just a second. We've got the winter storm warning still in effect because of that snow falling tonight. And then at 1 a.m., just an hour and a half from now, this kicks in an extreme cold warning. Wind chills could go zero to five below across the area. So be ready for some bitter attempts tomorrow morning, especially as the kids head out to play in the snow. Here's some of the snowfall totals coming in. These are preliminary. It's still snowing. So I expect these to go up, but Rocky Mount 7 inches. Wilson 6, Tarborough. 6 Sanford 5. Clayton 4 will slide South Chapel Hill and Durham at 4. Wake Forest preliminarily at 3, but that was a couple of hours ago. I assume it's gone up.

Same in Youngsville, Rollsville 2 and Wendell, 2 inches so far. Live look at First Alert Doppler net tonight scanning the skies. You can see heavier snow down here in the sand hills now. It's drawing that moisture up off the ocean. It's putting down a quick, heavy burst of snow. We'll zoom down in the dark blue running right through Spring Lake in Fort Bragg. see this heavier band starting to lift right across Cumberland County. Let's take a live look in our downtown Fayetteville camera and the street is gone. They've seen the snow kind of bury that there.

It continues to snow 19 degrees outside our studios there in downtown Fayetteville. Cloudy skies on a northwest wind at 13 miles per hour. Live look at RDU. You can see that the winds have picked up. We were talking all day that tonight they would go up to 30 miles an hour. We've seen Gus into the 30s now and that's putting the shake in the camera. Luckily, no flights going in or out because it is locked in the snow out at RDU. Temperatures feels like numbers in the single digits. Rone Oak Rapids 3, Oxford 3, 6 in Durham, 9 in Chapel Hill, and 7 in Fayville. So let's first alert you to that overnight forecast in the next 24 hours. Kids waking up tomorrow morning by 9 o'clock, 19 degrees. If they head out to play in the snow, wind chills will be zero to five below. So make sure and cover

their exposed skin. When kids play in the snow around here, usually it's in the 20s or 30s. When it's this cold, you risk a higher chance of seeing some frostbite. As we go through the day tomorrow, we'll stay below freezing most of the day. Tomorrow night, those temps will drop under clear skies. We'll talk about another cold night tonight and a first alert to a bit of warm-up in your seven-day forecast. It's all coming up in just a bit, guys. Okay, Don, we'll see you soon. Thanks. The Charlotte metro area is really getting hammered by this winter storm. Yeah, so just outside of Charlotte, a stretch of I-85 is now back open after 100 vehicles were stranded on the highway there. That incident stalled 30 tractor trailers and dozens of other vehicles. The NCDOT made quick work to plow the area and free those drivers.

The National Guard also responded. So far, no word of any injuries. We'll check in with a reporter from our sister station in Charlotte a little later in the newscast. Also in Charlotte earlier this evening, American Airlines canceled all remaining flights in and out of the Charlotte airport for the night because of the tough weather conditions. Flight aware reporting nearly 1,100 cancellations there. And here at the RDU airport, just over, just under 200 flights have been canceled today. And Gastonia, a close call for a truck driver after a train crashed into that driver's vehicle. This happened about 20 miles west of Charlotte this afternoon. Snow was falling at the time of that crash. Police said the driver managed to escape his truck before the train slammed right into it on the tracks.

Officials say the driver of that truck was stuck on the tracks. Thankfully, no one was hurt. In Wake County, an 11-year-old boy is recovering after he fell through the ice in Womble Park in Holly Springs. An officer was on patrol in that park when he was flagged down by someone who reported the boy had been walking on the ice, fell through under the surface. The officer went into the pond, rescued the child. Eyewitnesses said the boy was in the cold water for more than three minutes before he was pulled out. The boy was checked out before he was reunited with his parents. The snowfall here in the triangle really varies depending on where you are.

The city of Durham is covered in snow tonight. The winter storm hitting the Bull City pretty hard today, bringing several inches. Duan Hogarth is live near RDU Airport in Morrisville. Duan, you've been driving around that area for a few hours now. How are the conditions at this hour? Right now we're getting those nearly wide out conditions. I mean, look, even just behind me here, you see I 40 westbound toward Durham. That's where we were a little bit earlier.

And then 40 eastbound toward Raleigh. And Raleigh, much of the day today, they were pretty dry. We talked about that dry spot much of the day. Now Raleigh is actually able to fill a little bit of something. And as we were making our way toward Durham earlier today, this area where I'm standing now right near the airport, right off of Aviation Parkway, that's where the snow actually started to come down. This video that you're actually looking at is from my photojournalist here. And this is just kind of giving you the white out conditions that we saw throughout much of the evening now. And this area was seeing a significant snowfall.

And even right now, that's what they're expecting and actually receiving at this very hour. Now we had a chance to talk with a couple of folks. There's about four of them. They were out enjoying the evening out with their vehicles here at this side of gas station here at Shell. Had a brief little Q&A with them. And here's how things went. I've been clearly standing at the window all day. It just wild how it just circled all around us.

It didn't touch us to it like the late ends. I was going to be this cold. I might as well have some snow. That's my go-to. Especially living in North Carolina. Yeah, it's pretty good. I personally love the snow. I've lived in place like Washington State.

Idaho, New York, and snow to me is always amazing. And I've also lived, like, for years down in Georgia and South Carolina where there's, like, nothing. So every time I see snow, it's, like, always exciting. Yeah, and those two guys, along with some of their friends, they were out and about tonight, enjoying, making a couple of social media videos for some work that they're going on. Both men say that they are experienced driving in the snow, but do not recommend that to anybody who does not have any experience driving in conditions like this. And as we just reported just a short while ago with traffic over at RDAU airport,

normally you would see quite a few cars going back and forth, but because even just looking at the departures and the rivals board a few moments ago, canceled, canceled, canceled, just one after the other. Not much activity out this way. We're certainly live right now at this hour in Morrisville. Duon Hogarth, Ms. 11th, Iowa,ness News. Okay, Duon, good work today, and get inside and get some heat. Thank you.

The winter weather is having a big impact out on the road tonight, like here along I-95 in Cumberland County. In fact, the North Carolina Highway Patrol reporting at least 800 collisions and another 817 calls for service. Thankfully, no reports of any fatalities on North Carolina roadways. Elena Athens is in our storm chaser tonight.

You're in Durham. Show us what you're seeing there. Elena. Yeah, we're on 85 right now. And not too many vehicles out. Let me take you outside. A live look right now. On 85 southbound,

we are approaching, what is this, Gregerson Street that we're coming up on? You can see there's just one near car ahead of us. Not too many people out were seeing this evening. Earlier we were on UNC Chapel Hills campus. Quite a few students were out there walking about and taking advantage of this weather. They were plowing there regularly,

not only the roads, but the sidewalks, and we did have a chance to speak with some students who were enjoying this weather. You're not really slipping unless if you're on a patch of ice, which the snow is kind of covering it, so it's kind of fine. We've got our boots so we can walk through the snow, but it's definitely pretty crazy conditions.

We don't normally get stuff like this in North Carolina. Definitely easier to walk on than ice, which we had last time at this week. Again, another live look on 85 southbound right now, just a few vehicles out this evening. Most people home for the night and heating those warnings. We're live inside the storm chaser, Elena, Athens, ABC 11, eyewitness news. The snow keeps falling there on 85. The plows may have been there, but the snow keeps falling there. So it's important for people to know snowpack conditions there if they're heading out for any reason tonight.

Elena, thank you. All right. People in Raleigh had to wait a little longer. people in Durham to see the flakes start flying today, but in the end they weren't disappointed. John Dowding was there. He was there for the waiting game. There's now a snow covered Fayetteville Street behind him. John, was it worth the wait? I mean, we finally got snow, y'all. Oops, sorry, hit the camera there, but we finally got some snow here. It's definitely that light snow, though, where it's easily getting blown around. It's hitting me in the face because of the wind gusts.

But, I mean, just take a look at Fayetteville Street right now. We got a winter wonderland right here in downtown Raleigh. It is beautiful. We have seen some people out in about. even when it was frigid and really windy earlier today, still going out and about on Glenwood Avenue and all around downtown. Take a listen. Double up on the glass. My hands are really cold. The flakes finally falling in Raleigh tonight, hours after snow began blanketing other areas of the triangle. Take a look at this before and after video from Glenwood Avenue. We shot that video from Glenwood before 7 p.m.

Then just an hour later, snow blanketed the road around 8 o'clock. And it started coming down even more as the night went on. We spoke with a man visiting friends from Boston. He shared some advice on how to drive safely on the roads. Drive slow, don't break. Honestly, my experience is if you break, the car starts sliding. So just kind of let go the gas. You'll come to a slow stop.

It'll be fine. If you have some kind of traction system, put that on. Some good advice there. If you have to hit the roads tomorrow morning, and you see the roads here right now, completely covered. We have seen, though, plow trucks going around downtown, starting to clear some of the major roads here.

They've been plowing some of the roads as we've been down here for the last like maybe 20, 30 minutes since we've been out and about here. But again, just the we've been waiting all day. We finally got that snow. It's been picking up. It is still going strong here right now in downtown rally. So if you have to head out tomorrow, just be extra careful, especially if the roads aren't all fully plowed. We do see some people driving slow, but we have seen some cars skidding out behind us. So definitely be extra careful.

I can barely see you guys right now. So I'm going to toss it back to you guys in the studio as the wind as the wind and snow. smack me in the face. I was going to say the snow is falling in the wind is whipping hitting you right in the face. John Dowding. Thank you so much. All right, let's head south to the sand hills now. We're after a long wait there as well. Snow has been falling tonight in Cumberland County. James Price is all bundled up on Cedar Creek Road in Fayetteville. Jamies, you met some people who have never seen snow before. That is a true story, Lauren. I met a few folks who have never seen snow. And so they planned a trip

to make sure that they could see snow here. in Fayetteville, North Carolina. I wanna give you guys a look though of what we are experiencing right now. You see this snow coming down here and you see how much snow has accumulated over the last, what, two or three hours here. Now you saw me all day waiting on the snow

with the rest of the folks here and it started to come down about 8.30 and it hasn't let up yet. So here, just behind me, we are very close to 95. You can see this road here also covered. Folks are still driving on it though, taking their time, of course, and that's the way it should be. Of course, you don't want to be out here, but if you are, take your time, though. So a lot of snow coming down. We're enjoying it. It's beautiful.

And the folks who came from Jacksonville, Florida, I think they're enjoying it the most. Take a listen. When we bought our truck, we made sure that it was, you know, four-wheel drive. He put new tires on it, made sure it was snow tires. And we decided to come up. We've been chasing the weather for a while. We've watched the radar all day. And it was like 9 a.m. 1 a.m. 4 p.m. And finally we come out the restaurant and surprise. Surprise, surprise. So Casey Jones and her husband, Preston,

they brought their 7-year-old daughter, Scarlett, with them as well. You can see she made her snow angels. And that was at the beginning when the snow started to fall. So, of course, if she's out there now, she can make more. She also threw a few snowballs at our camera. She threw snowballs at her parents. well so just everybody enjoying this beautiful snow I'm telling folks at home I feel like I'm in the snow globe because that's just how beautiful it is it's super soft here and I want to see if

we can make anything with it she tried to make herself a little snowball it's coming out a little like a pancake I said like a little snow pancake so it's still really fun to play and and I'm sure the kiddos will enjoy that tomorrow morning when they get up of course bundle up if you're going to be out there because baby it is cold Lauren and Steve that's right it is cold temperature's dipping very low yeah that's that's really cool that family from Florida on a road trip to find the snow chasing the weather that's really cool yeah good story jemise thank you still to come here on eyewitness news we'll have more from the scene of that nasty 100 car backup near charlotte you'll see how crews were able to remove all those stranded cars and trucks and clear the highway

in just a couple of hours plus it's scary enough to drive slowly in the snow but one woman in johnston county Clearly it was not worried. We'll tell you how fast she was clocked going when she was pulled over with a one-year-old in the car. Did this say 103 miles an hour? Come on. What are you thinking? All right, and around here,

we've got the snow continuing to fly heavier down to the south and east. We'll talk more about that and when it finally moves out in your forecast coming up. At Medcan, we know that life's greatest moments are built on a foundation of good health from the big milestones to the quiet winds.

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So whatever you think is going to happen in the future, you can invest in it at WealthSimple. Start now at WealthSimple.com. We are back now with more on that breaking news we told you about in the Charlotte area, where 100 cars were stranded on I-85 in Canapolis. The U.S.Aid is back open tonight after dozens of cars became stranded. The northbound lanes were shut down for hours. At least 30 tractor trailers were among those who were stranded on that snow-covered highway. WSOC's Glenn Counts with more on that mess. Well, we're located just off of I-85, and the National Guard has staged here because conditions are treacherous. Now, Saturday afternoon, that unit was on I-85 helping with that 100-car misadventure.

This all started around 4.30 when a tractor trailer crashed and blocked the interstate. Other tractor trailers and cars had to stop, and then they ended up getting stuck in the snow. The Highway Patrol called the National Guard in to help the drivers or help pull the drivers out. Now, this unit is from Fayetteville, and they actually got called up last week for last week's storm. They went home and were called back a day later just in time for this messy. weather. We've been seeing a lot of tractor trailers stuck, not able to get up the inclines. Civilian vehicles that are not made out for the snow are stuck on the sides of the roads. The roads are not clear just yet. They are requiring good Samaritans help them out. We can help them. Hover

trolls pulling them out. There is icy spot. Now one example why this weather was problematic for these tractor trailers is because they had a difficult time going up an incline. And the National Guard says that if they can't do it, you shouldn't try to do it either. New tonight at Johnson County Sheriff's deputy pulling over a car that was going over 103 miles an hour in the snow on Highway 70 near Princeton. The 22-year-old woman who was driving had a blood alcohol content of 0.22 and a one-year-old was unrestrained in a car seat. During the winter storm like this, it's an all-hands-on-deck event for us here at eyewitness news. Yeah, we even put our sports reporters to work out in the cold in the snow.

Trayvon Miles spent the day on 9th Street in Durham. talking with Duke students. Major snow coming down here in the Bull City, Trayvon Miles hanging out on 9th Street, where I've been most of the day. We've gotten a lot of different mixed reactions from locals and Duke students alike. Hopefully classes get canceled,

and we have some time to hang out, just hang out in the snow maybe a little enjoy. North Carolina freaks out about snow, man. But it's great. I'm having a great time. I love the snow. Worst part is it's been canceled on. We got the snow on the Friday,

the Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, school back to normal. I'll tell you right now, if we got four inches of snow in New Hampshire, life would go on as normal. Shovel off the car. But how different is it here than adjusting? Well, I wanted to go to school in North Carolina because I thought it'd be sunny year-round, so I guess I was wrong about that.

City officials are urging residents to stay home as the snow continues to fall here in the Bull City. From here in Durham, Trayvon Miles, ABC 11, eyewitness news. He did not get the real deal about winter in North Carolina, right? He should have picked a college in Florida. That's right. All right, Don's back with us right now.

And tomorrow, I think the big story is the cold. It's going to be really, really cold. Yeah, we still have a couple hours of snow left. By the time you wake up tomorrow, it'll be gone. But you could see wind chills zero to five below through 10 a.m. And that is very cold for us. I know if you moved here from somewhere else, you're going, that's not that cold. Yeah.

But around here, that is very cold. We'll talk about that coming up in just a bit. Taking a live look at radar. We'll take a better look at that in just a second. We always start with that seven-day forecast. And tomorrow is still a first alert day just because of those cold temperatures to start today. We'll be in the teens, single digits, wind chills below zero. But then we start to warm up into the 40s.

We will melt as we go through the week. We didn't get to show this last night, but tomorrow's going to be. be a great morning. Keep the kids inside and make some breakfast with them. Your flapjack forecast. This is usually on Friday nights, but I thought we'd show it tonight. Temperatures will be in the teens to start today. So warm up, have a nice breakfast with the kids, have an extra cup of coffee, and then they can head out as we warm up later in the morning. Live look on First Alert Doppler at heavy snow still falling down here. My oldest son lives down in Pitt County in Greenville. He has 11 inches outside his house down there. And you can see the heavy snow continuing from Kenita to Wilson

to Goalsboro. This band is lifting through right now and the winds will get stronger through the overnight hours. Now by 7 o'clock tomorrow the snow is done. You can see the temperatures 7 a.m. Sun comes up and we're clear. And then that snow stays out of here as we head into the afternoon. Numbers will barely climb above freezing for your Sunday. Maniota Murphy tonight, boy out of the coast, they're seeing 60 mile an hour gusts, almost hurricane strength winds. 29 in Manio, 20 down in Greville tonight as well as Chase City. 18 in Raleigh, 18 down in Lumberton, 16 in the triad. That's not a feels like out in Boone.

They're at nine degrees. Overnight, we'll see the snow showers ending. Temperatures into the teens for lows. 17th Smithfield, 18 in Fayetteville. Then tomorrow, those numbers climbing only into the 30s. As a matter of fact, Raleigh could stay below freezing. 31. Durham 33, Fayetteville, 34.

Start with some clouds. Well, end your day with sunshine. Back to that seven-day forecast. And we're in the 30s tomorrow. We go above freezing on Monday, Groundhog Day. I think with the sunshine, that means snored, the groundhog down in Garner. We'll see a shadow. That could mean six more weeks of winter.

But is it the 70-degree winter we saw in December, or is it this winter we're seeing now? Snurred hasn't said. Tuesday 46, Wednesday, 44, and we'll stay in the 40s. And by the way, next weekend, I won't have to see you to. we should be able to stay home because we're not expecting another snowstorm for the third week in a row. Wow. Thank goodness. I like you guys, but I like being home too. Yeah, Monday through Friday with together. That's always a good time. That's enough, right? All right, Don, thank you. Coming up next, it's been a rough day at the airport.

Thousands of flights canceled across the country today, and the board at RDU was filled with red as well. Diane Wilson will show us how travelers dealt with that frustration. With Amex Platinum, almost every purchase made with your card can be covered. with points, including new tastes, new fits, and virtually everything in between. That's the powerful backing of Amex. Conditions apply. I was guilty of multiple skin care crimes. Two counts of sleeping in makeup. One count of using disposable wipes. I knew my routine had to change. So I switched to Garnier-Missler water. It gently cleanses, perfectly removes makeup, and provides 24-hour hydration. Clear away the evidence with

The number one Missler Water worldwide by Garnier. Tracking it all for you. Feels like temperatures in the single digits. I have seen several cars spinning out. You can't even see where the road is. Back in Storm Chaser right now. It is another weekend full of delays and cancellations at airports across the country. So here at RDU, there were 35 cancellations, 177 delays today.

Tomorrow there are already 73 cancellations on the board. Diane Wilson spent the day at the airport checking in with travelers hoping to make it to their destination. A tough day for many travelers here at RDU. While there were many flyers who made it out and in on their scheduled flights, others not so lucky. I drove here all the way from Lake Gaston, about an hour and a half away. And then, you know, you put the snow in there and it makes it a little bit longer. Todd Barrett made the trek from his Lake Gaston home to RDU Airport Force flight to London. However, when we first checked in, they said, you know, that's probably one of the only flights that's going to go out of here tonight.

But after making his way through TSA and waiting in the American lounge. We were having a couple of few, you know, free cocktails, you know, flying first class. The, uh, they came up and told us we were canceled. The flight to London now canceled. Now Todd and his coworkers are staying the night in hotel near the airport and we'll try again on Sunday. So we're 10 o'clock and 12 o'clock. Yeah, on different flights now. So Todd and his coworkers will be back here at RDE tomorrow, hoping to make.

it out on their next scheduled flight. I'm Dane Wilson, ABC 11, eyewitness news. Thousands of people impacted at the RDU Airport today. We also sent a crew to Nash County to see how that area is faring in all the snow. Tom George reports from the snow-covered streets of Rocky Mount. Well, it has been steadily accumulating here in downtown Rocky Mount. This is right here along Main Street where the train passes through. You can see right here, fresh powder.

I would say it's at least three inches of snow. The very powdery kind, this is not good for us. snowball fights. It's just the dry kind that dissipates right away. But nonetheless, creating headaches. We don't see anywhere open right now. It is pretty much a ghost town, the one restaurant we had seen closed for the day. So pretty much everything blocked off right here. And you can see even the road. You can't even see the road markers. So everybody following that advice, which you should, to stay at home and don't go out here because it's very dangerous conditions. Not just where we are right now, but throughout this area, both in Wilson and in Rocky Mountain,

we were heading out on I-95 and Highway 64, whiteout conditions there as well. We had also seen some of those snow plows out there trying to get a hold on things, but even with that, very, very limited visibility. And as you can see here, with that wind blowing, it is tossing around those flakes, and it is not stopping any time soon. So obviously, very treacherous conditions out here in Rocky Mount. So follow that advice, stay inside, and we're going to continue monitoring. during those conditions in Nash County. Tom Georgia, ABC 11, I Witness News.

Gave us a flapjack forecast and can stay inside. And Cruz did talk about this wind and how the measured snow totals might be a little off because the wind's been blowing it all over the place all day. Yeah, I think it will look really pretty tomorrow. The sun will be out. The snow will be there. It won't be melting. So we'll have a chance to enjoy that winter wonderland around here tomorrow.

Hictor S. That's right. We'll be right back with a look at some of the fun photos received today from you, our viewers. All day long. The secret to Charlotte Cardin's captivating eyes? Panorama Mascara by L'Oreal Paris. The multi-level bristle brush catches every lash from inner to outer corner. For panoramic volume with lashes that are so fanned out,

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Join today at staplesprofessional.ca and get expert solutions tailored to your business. That was easy. We've been asking you to send us your pictures and video of your Snow Day Fund, and you're coming through for us. Check out this video from Durham. Caden Givens was out today enjoying his first snow. His mom says they moved her from Cali, and this is the first time they have ever seen snow. How about that?

All right, over in Franklinton, these kids were really excited to see the snow plow rolled through their neighborhood. That's Connor and Kinsley, waving at the truck while playing out in the snow today. And in Alamance County, the Animal Park at the Conservators Center in Burlington sharing these photos with us,

Hobbies the tiger and Seek to the Grey Wolf. And Gerald, also enjoying the snow outside today. They're serious, though, huh? I know real serious about the snow. All right, that's going to do it for us tonight. I hope you had a great day of snow coverage here with us. Yeah, and we hope you have a great day out in the snow tomorrow.

Enjoy it. Be safe if you have to get out and about. And we'll see you back here for eyewitnesses. Certainly Monday evening, maybe tomorrow we'll try to figure that out. Good night.