ABC11 Eyewitness News - Eyewitness News at 5am - January 29, 2026

Episode Date: January 29, 2026

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Right now, live coverage from your local news leader, breaking stories from overnight and this morning, and your first alert forecast. Here's what's happening where you live. This is ABC 11 eyewitness news. Good morning, Carolina. I'm Sean Coffey in this morning for Joel Brown. And I'm Anna Rivera. Thanks so much for joining us today. We start this morning with a look at the possible for winter weather this morning. That is right. Yeah, another storm system coming our way. confidence is going up. The low is going to be in the perfect place that we can be talking about in all snow event. And right now preparations are underway ahead of another possible winter storm. We'll take a look at how NCDOT crews are getting the roads ready. Store shelves emptied out across the triangle as people rush to stock up on winter supplies, how hardware stores are handling the increased demand and the two common household items that can be substituted for ice melt if you can't get the real thing.

And straight ahead, we'll take a look at how far this second winter blast could span across the country. All right, it is time for a first check of the weather and traffic together. Meteorologist Steve Stewart joining us. Cannot believe we are back in this same situation, but here we are Alaska. Yeah, yeah. And it was right. It was like Groundhog Day. It is.

Yeah. But this is a different storm, completely different. So this is an all snow event. If you look at the major models that we take a peek at, they're all saying route track two, give or take, which would be an all snow event for us. If it was track three, we might miss out completely, but that upper level low is going to pull the surface a little close. enough and we're going to be talking about some snow here.

Folks, winter storm watch in effect for the entire area for some bands of heavy snow and some gusty winds anticipated. Temperatures are really going to be down there, likely Friday night, overnight during the day Saturday and then quickly exiting the area sometime early Sunday morning as that low really gets strong. Our outer banks could have wind gusts sometime late Saturday approaching 70 miles an hour. So it's going to be like a strong tropical storm as far as the intensity goes. Chances really start to ramp up.

Notice later and later on Friday, it's the lion sure of this event is going to be during the day, Saturday, and then those chances are going to be coming down fairly quickly as we get in the early Sunday morning, and the question is, where is the heavy band going to set up? I'm working on that graphic right now. 37 degrees is the high temperature for it today. We got some high clouds moving on in.

Head now this morning, bundle up. It's cold in the 20s, getting up to around freezing by the time we get to that midday hour. Right now we're looking at a temperature of only 20s, 25 degrees. It's cold with it feels like 16 with that breeze out of the north right now. And most areas feeling like the teens, 21 though in Roanoke Rapids, 18, Rocky Mount Wilson and Smithfield currently at 20. If you have evening plans, you're heading out, still cold, be in the mid-20s through the evening with some passing clouds as well. But overnight should become partly cloudy. Confidence is increasing now. This has potential for significant snow totals.

More on that coming up in just a few minutes. Okay, Steve, thank you. Right now, the road's looking really good as far as our crash count. It's sitting at zero. We're also not seeing any congestion that you need to worry about. Let's take a live look outside at the DOT cameras. This is 40 and South Saunders. Definitely starting to see more cars on the road already. Could be a busy morning commute. And cruise across the triangle once again bracing for the potential of another winter storm system hitting the area this weekend. ABC 11's Michael Perchick joining us live from the DOT maintenance yard in Raleigh with how they're preparing. Good morning, Michael.

Good morning and a fairly rare for the triangle to be dealing with back-to-back weekends and potential winter weather, but that's exactly what could be playing out here over the next couple of days. Officials do believe they are in good shape when it comes to supplies. So much of the work to mitigate the impact of this winter weather is done of the days leading up to the stone from positioning of Cruz to pre-treating the Rose. NCDOT says they are well-stocked with brine and salt, noting if one district gets low. They borrow from each other this week. The town of Kerry shared the steps it's taking ahead of this weekend. We were able to procure us all.

We have a contract that we keep. We have a logistics section in our Public Works team that is constantly looking at our stocks. We have maximums and minimums of how many plow blades we keep and those things on hand, hard hat, safety gear, safety vest, all of that. And we're constantly replenishing that throughout the storms. Now, one silver lining is we saw the images of empty grocery store shelves ahead of the last week's storm. The hope is that folks who had stocked up then won't need to hit those shelves once again. In Raleigh, I'm Michael Perch. ABC 11, eyewitness news.

All right, Michael, thank you. Preparing for the weather comes with trips to the store, and we're learning hardware stores or working to restock shelves. Customers stocked up last week, many of them did, meaning inventory is low on some items. Akela Davis is live outside Ace Hardware in Durham this morning, and Akela, we know that getting some of those supplies

can be a bit of a challenge. Sean, good morning. Back-to-back snow events mean empty shelves at our local hardware stores. I mean, listen, it's really been a mad dash for people across the triangle trying to stock up on those winter storm supplies and those empty shelves prove it. We visited hardware stores across the triangle in both Durham and Wake counties and we could not find any ice melt. Store owners tell us they are hoping to replenish supplies between today and

tomorrow and that's the case here at Ace Hardware in Durham. We are going to get in some faucet covers on a truck tomorrow, some gas cans, generators, heaters, some of the necessities, batteries, things we ran out in the last storm we're going to be getting in tomorrow. And store owners say if you can't find ice melt, sand and kitty litter are both two good options, second options, I should say. Reporting live in Durham, Akela Davis, ABC 11, eyewitness news. Yes, some good tips to keep in mind, Akela. Thank you. This morning, dangerously cold conditions are wreaking havoc across the country. Windchills will plunge well below zero in many cities ahead of the possible noreaster this weekend. Driving remains treacherous in parts of the

south as they deal with the aftermath of heavy ice coating roadways. Right now, utility companies are rushing to restore power to nearly 300,000 customers across the region. As response teams try to dig out from last weekend. Storm, officials now bracing for another storm this weekend along the East Coast. As Steve has mentioned, at least a half foot of snow could fall from Georgia to Virginia. Temperatures in the teens are expected to hit Florida this weekend, the coldest weather since 2010. As we keep an eye on the possible snow for this weekend, be sure to download the ABC 11 app. on what's happening in your community. 5.06 now, and this morning,

a murder suspect is on the loose in Robinson County after allegedly posing as another inmate who was scheduled for release. Yeah, what the sheriff's office is telling us about his possible whereabouts. Plus, VA nurses standing in solidarity in memory of one of their own, how nurses in Durham are remembering Alex Prettie,

the man shot and killed by federal agents in Minneapolis. All right, good morning, everybody, outside right now. Look at fair skies around. Temperatures are in the 20s. It feels colder with that breeze, so we'll catch it down. of some high cloud streaming in giving us partly cloudy skies.

Temperatures in the 30s and 40s for highs, but colder air and snow is on the way. All the details after the break. This is first alert weather from ABC 11 eyewitness news. Come back everybody. Good morning to you on this Thursday. Today it's going to be a cold one again. No surprise here. We've been stuck well below average. We'll be below average again today. Maybe 41 degrees down in Fayetteville for a high temperature. These are some high clouds that'll be streaming in as we go through the day today. But that's about it. It's going to be quiet out there for now. Cold for that walk with a pup this morning in the 20s early on. Only freezing by the midday hour today. And at times that breeze, especially this morning, will make it feel colder.

Feels like 12 in Oxford right now. 19, Lewisburg, 20 into Smithfield and Fayetteville. It feels like 18 degrees this morning. Head now to watch the Keynes in action for tonight at 7 o'clock at Lenovo. About 30 or so when you're walking in. 25 by the time you're heading home with some passing clouds around. The northeast will have some Lake of Fetton. snow with the big cities, Philly, New York. I'll be fine. D.C. Atlanta for travel. Dallas is good, Denver, Chicago. More rain, though, in the Pacific Northwest and some mountain snow is anticipated there. So far this morning, all the major hubs are showing no delays. Got you 7 a.m. We'll talk snow coming up in just a few minutes, Anna. Okay, Steve, thank you. Flu deaths in North Carolina continue to climb. New numbers released by state health officials show since last week 26 more people

have died from flu-related complications. There are now 207 total flu deaths this The number of people visiting emergency room departments and admitted to hospitals continue to trend down across most of the state, except in western North Carolina. Flu season runs through May. A group of researchers at the Duke University School of Medicine may have discovered one of the causes of the common cold. According to a new study, researchers uncovered the first known neutralizing human antibodies against one of the viruses responsible for the common cold. That study was led by Dr. Daniel Rapp, an assistant professor at Duke University School of Medicine. Rapp and his team analyzed a blood sample from a person recovering from a cold, allowing them to isolate the first monoclonal antibodies ever described from a human naturally infected.

Dr. Rapp says the study could soon help lead to therapeutics or vaccines that could shorten the recovery time from a cold. Make sure you stay around for Good Morning America. Ahead at 7 o'clock the details on the so-called Trump accounts promising $1,000 deposits into a baby's bank account and what you need to do before tax time. Acrobat Studio, your new foundation. Use PDF spaces to generate a presentation. Grab your docks, your permits, your moves. AI levels of your pitch, gets it in a groove.

Choose a template with your timeless cool. Next those two. Drive, design, deliver, make it sing. AI builds the deck so you can build that thing. Acrobat. Learn more at Adobe.com slash do that with Acrobat. We are in local news. ABC 11 eyewitness news continues.

now. An inmate charged with murder is on the run this morning in Robinson County. The sheriff's office tells eyewitness news, 26-year-old Zion Britt escaped from custody on Tuesday after posing as another inmate who was scheduled for release. We're told he was last seen around 9 p.m. Tuesday night wearing a black zip-up coat with a hood, dark sneakers and a pink shirt hanging from his back pocket. Britt was being held at the Columbus County Detention Center for safekeeping in connection with the 2021 homicide. He's charged with first-degree murder and conspiracy. Britt is believed to be in Robeson County. The Sheriff's Office warning anyone harboring or assisting him

will be prosecuted. Hundreds of VA nurses gathered outside the Durham VA Medical Center for a vigil honoring Alex Preti. Preti was shot and killed by ICE agents in Minneapolis, prompting calls for change to how ICE operates. Prettie was an ICU nurse who worked with veterans and that hit close to home for fellow nurses in the Triangle, who said they also felt a duty

to protect the community when ICE is ramping up enforcement in our area. Furthermore, when ICE was here in our local community, We were out in the streets. We worked together to get kids to school safely, to feed families who were too afraid to come out of their house. It's what you do as a community, not just as a nurse, but as a community. According to the Department of Homeland Security, the two ICE agents involved in pretty shooting have been placed on leave. The North Carolina Association of Educators is calling for DHS Secretary Christy Noem to resign over what they call aggressive immigration enforcement operations in cities across the country.

In a statement sent to eyewitness news, the president of the NCAA says in part, Secretary Nome, reckless mismanagement of DHS and ICE has harmed communities across the country, and in Minneapolis has now cost multiple lives. Secretary Nome must resign for the safety of our children, the security of our communities, and the health of our nation. The NCAE is also urging all North Carolina lawmakers to call for an end to the violent immigration rates. The White House and Senate leaders are moving close to a deal to avert a government shutdown. According to several sources familiar with the talks, they're seeking to resolve final sticking points and negotiations ahead of Friday.

deadline. The sources indicated that the White House was moving closer to the Democrats' demands to split funding from the Department of Homeland Security from a larger funding package. That split would give Democrats time to negotiate new policy measures on the deployment of ICE agents across the country. The deal in the works would provide funding for the rest of the agencies in that package through the end of September, but would only temporarily extend funding for DHS. In your voice, your vote, students from North Carolina A&T State University have filed a lawsuit against state election officials. It comes after the board voted to remove campus voting sites at three North Carolina

universities, including Western Carolina University and UNC Greensboro. Earlier this month, a group of A&T students protested at the Board of Elections meeting, holding up signs demanding the board allow on-campus voting. They're now calling for a voting sites to be restored ahead of the primary elections in March. In addition to voting against some campus voting sites, the boards also voted to reduce Sunday voting statewide. Early voting begins February 12th. North Carolina Central University released the dates of the HBCU's ultimate homecoming experience, 2026.

The nine-day celebration kicks off on Friday, October 2nd, culminating on Saturday, October 10th with the homecoming geek football game. The Eagles will face, and I'm my alma mater, William and Mary. No word of Central's plans to implement these strict security rules that were in effect last year. All right, taking a live look outside now. Here's a view of downtown Raleigh from our Pendo Skycam at 301, Hillsborough Street. Everything's clear right now, but again, here we are one week later talking about the potential for more winter weather guys. That makes Steve very popular with Anna, honestly. Oh, absolutely. Look at that look. I know. My husband sees this one a lot. We'll make it true. Well, I don't want to get in that one. All right, listen, as you head outside this morning, it's cold, and we've been cold. I don't have to tell you that. We know that. The ground temperatures right now are pretty low in the mid-30s. This is going to have no trouble sticking when this starts late Friday. all the way through Saturday. High clouds today, though,

we'll be in the mid to upper 30s for high temperatures. Still have some ice in many shaded areas. Be careful walking out there. Cloudy tomorrow, but snow probably overnight will come into play. Light snow and then at times it's going to pick up. The winds are going to be strong. It's going to be frigid, but feels like temperatures in the single digits. It can be a pretty impressive snow.

At least the potential is still there. National Weather Service issued the entire area with a winter storm watch for heavy snow. And again, the gusty winds with a light fluffy snow. We don't talk about snow drifts that often, but we can have some drifts in a few areas, maybe on the side of your house. It could drift up pretty high. So that's just something to keep in mind. Now the cold air loft is here. This is around 5,000 feet. That's what we call the warm nose, which is what happened last time. Not this time. That needs to come in here to give us that slead and freezing rain. Not going to happen. We're basically going to have that really cold air loft coming down. This is the upper level trough. This is the surface low that it's going to generate. And because you can see the winds aloft are really kind of curving back like this, because this is kind of wanting to cut off that can pull this low closer to our coastline,

putting us in that perfect position to get some wrap around heavy snow, and that's likely what's gonna be setting up now. I'm not saying this is a lock and a guarantee for really heavy snow, but the way it looks right now, most of the global models are hinting at that is gonna be the case.

An all snow event, possible heavy bands of snow. It's a light fluffy snow because it's more of a 15, 15 to 1 ratio versus 10. What a 10 to 1 ratio means is if you get an inch of liquid, that would be 10 inches of snow. Well, the colder it is, the fluffier it is, and it stacks even higher. So that's something to keep an eye on.

And those feels like temperatures could be in the single digits during the event. So very high confidence, we're gonna have an inch to three inches. Still pretty impressive to have six inches of snow. And this confidence could go up as we get new model data in. To get 10 inches, it's not zero, but it's a lot. lot lower. That's just looking at some of the European ensembles, but it's late Friday during the day Saturday and then tapering off quickly as we get into early Sunday morning. So if you want to take, I'm taking a stab at this.

Where does the heavy band set up? That's the question mark. And I'm telling you right now, this is likely going to change, but widespread four to six inches, but somewhere I think there's going to be a band where we could be flirting with a foot of snow. I got six to 10 in there because again, it's going to stack higher than it normally would, because it's going to be a really cold event. The lion's share of this event. I think we're going to be in the low 20s. So again, I'll be fine-tuning that as we go on. 20s this morning, though, cold for that walk, bundle up.

Midday, we're only at freezing. And if you take a look at the last 10 days, we've been significantly below average leading up to this event. That doesn't help us. When you factor in, we're going to be in the 20s and probably dropping that temperature during the afternoon during the event. Really going to be cold. The first flakes are going to stick.

And we do warm up as we get into Tuesday and Wednesday to the low 40s, but don't forget our normal highs about 53. Where 25 now feels like 16. Widespread areas are in those teens out there right now with that breeze coming out of the north, northwest. As we look ahead, well, watch the development of a low. It's right about here. As that lifts up, that's going to be giving us the wraparound snow that we anticipate as we go throughout the day on Saturday. Today, though, likely 30s. High clouds moving in, partly cloudy overnight. and low 20s. We should be closer to freezing. So another cold overnight and your first alert seven day. Clouds during the day may be a flurry. It's really tomorrow night. I anticipate generally light snow moving in, but there will be a band of some heavier snow at times and the wind will be gusting as well. Feels like temperatures in the single digits only 23 degrees. Sunday the snow is going to come to an end, but we could see a cold weather advisory with single digit or even below zero wind chills. And then Monday into Tuesday, we're going to have the sun. and we'll start some melting. So hopefully the ground hog says it's an early spring. Yes, very hopeful for that, Steve. Now the roads right now looking really good.

We don't have any major issues, no cross shoes you need to worry about and also no congestion. Let's take a live look outside at 40 and 540. You can see traffic has started to fill in. Good news is it's so nice to see those roads nice and clear. All right. Still ahead. Tech giant Amazon Axe's 16,000 jobs. Why the company says that move is necessary. Stay with us. Winnecker, tonight on ABC 11 eyewitness news. Tesla now killing off two car models to make room for another product. Here's ABC's hand in the top with this morning TechBites.

In today's TechBites, big changes at Tesla. Production of its models S and X will stop soon with factories being converted to produce humanoid robots. Owner Elon Musk says he plans to roll out what's called Optimus by the end of the year. Amazon has cut another 16,000 corporate jobs. for a total of 30,000 since October. Company says layoffs are necessary to reduce bureaucracy and increase efficiency, adding they are part of a broader restructuring

of the entire tech industry. Apple is forcing all creators on the platform Patreon to switch to subscription billing by November. Patreon is not happy with the change because creators will no longer be allowed to charge their fans outside the app store without paying Apple fees. Only a small percentage of creators

will be affected by this. Those are your Techbytes. I'm Hannah Batob. Have a great day, everyone. 526 now and we're looking at the potential for significant snow this weekend. Yeah, how much snow could fall here in Central North Carolina meteorologist. Steve Stewart has your full forecast in our next half hour. Stay with us.