Business as usual: Loria Houston and Carlotta Williams at Cashions
Jan. 17. UPDATE 1 PM. The snow is coming down nice and steady, it’s sticking and the National Weather Service is sticking to its forecast for 3-5 inches of snow in Cornelius. There will be a hard freeze tonight—17 degrees, so plan on treacherous conditions tonight and early tomorrow.
Jetton Park looked like Vermont at 8 am
Roads are already icy in unexpected places: A front-drive Nissan Altima could not make it up the hill from Jetton Extension up Bethel Church Extension, near the UPS store. Outbound Jetton Road just before the light at West Catawba is all ice, making prospects for a quick stop something for the most optimistic.
Meanwhile, most drivers are working their way down West Catawba and Jetton single-file.
Grocery stores, What The Cup, Bruegger’s Bagels and Cashion’s are open, while the Cook House and Aquesta Bank are closed.
Cashion’s will shut down at 11 pm, not the usual 2 am.
Cornelius Public Works is keeping driveways clear at the fire stations and the police station. Mt. Zion has cancelled Wednesday services. The Cornelius Post Office is open till 5 pm, and carriers “are delivering as much as they can” this afternoon, a supervisor said.
The Town of Cornelius has five plows on the job, and roads like West Catawba have a good coating of salt and sand. Neighborhood streets are mostly coated in, technically speaking, white stuff. 
John Benson, who grew up in Michigan, drove down from Mooresville just to get breakfast at the Waffle House. He was the only customer at 6:30 am.
At 5:30 am, Mecklenburg County said its departments were opening on time and running a normal schedule. The Town of Cornelius reports garbage collection is on a one-day delay.
Jolie Lizotte: What the Cup was open but no one was out at 7 am
Schools are closed, and of course it’s possible they’ll close tomorrow as well. Some local businesses are telling employees to play it by ear. The Town of Cornelius has spread thousands of gallons of brine mix on major local roads like Hwy. 21, Bethel Church, Torrence Chapel and Catawba. Public Works was on deck at 6 am to work on roads, according to Tyler Beardsley, assistant to the Town Manager.
The weather-meisters are predicting snow for nearly the entire state. Parts of central North Carolina are expected to see two to four inches with locally higher amounts of five to six inches in some areas.
Tomorrow will be sunny, with a high near 42, according to the National Weather Service.
Christmas in January: The back door at Christine Alma just west of Town Hall looked very Christmasy in snow
It’s the second widespread winter storm in less than a month. Gov. Roy Cooper once again declared a state of emergency and urged North Carolinians to stay off the roads when travel becomes dangerous.
“Nearly all of North Carolina will be impacted by this winter storm, and we’re making sure North Carolina is ready,” Cooper said. “I urge all of our residents to be prepared and to stay safe.”
By 2 pm, the snow was mostly done in Cornelius. Angela Landestoy measured 6 inches on the east side of town.
This just in from the It Can’t Get Colder Dept: The mercury will hit 39 Thursday, 51 Friday and 57 Saturday. On Sunday it will be a balmy 60 degrees.
