NORTH CAROLINA — Temperatures dropped quickly and winds picked up across North Carolina on Friday as arctic air moved in. 

Tens of thousands of customers lost power Friday, and although service was restored to many over the day, the number of outages surged Saturday to more than 450,000, electric providers report. 

Across the state, temperatures fell Friday, with wind gusts between 40 and 50 mph.

Related story: Wind chills drop below zero for Friday night and Christmas Eve morning in N.C.

Wind chills, or feels like temperatures, dropped to the single digits and teens in much of the state in the afternoon. In the mountains, it felt well below zero.

Gov. Roy Cooper issued a State of Emergency ahead of the arctic blast. 

“We know that with the extremely low temperatures North Carolinians will need propane and other heating fuel to keep their families warm,” Cooper said in a release. “While propane supplies are strong in the state, there is a limited supply of licensed commercial truck drivers, which is being further exacerbated by COVID and flu outbreaks. The State of Emergency will help ease some restrictions and allow heating fuel companies to keep up with demand."

The following information will help keep you in the know on any outages in your area and how to report any you may come across.

Outage Map

Report an Outage

*Information provided by NCDPS

Related Stories