Rowan County may see a half-inch of snow fall overnight Tuesday into Wednesday.
Only the southeastern part of the state is expected to escape snow as a weather system moves through, the National Weather Service says.
Locally, the high temperature will be in the upper 40s with rain expected to begin before 5 p.m. Much colder weather will move in, creating the chance for snow. The overnight low is forecast to be 14 degrees.
The high temperature on Wednesday will be around 32, and it could be Saturday before temperatures rise above freezing.
Elsewhere in the state, a winter storm warning was issued for the northern mountains of western North Carolina until 6 a.m. Wednesday. Up to 6 inches of snow is possible.
Up to 2 inches of snow is expected in the Asheville area.
A winter weather advisory is in effect across much of central North Carolina until midnight Tuesday. Up to 2 inches of snow is possible.
Up to an inch of snow is even expected on the Outer Banks.
A winter weather advisory is in effect for northeastern North Carolina. Forecasters say up to 3 inches of snow is possible in the Elizabeth City area.
The storm system will dump much heavier snow amounts in the Northeast. Eight to 12 inches of snow could fall on Philadelphia and New York City today, and it will bring bitterly cold air with wind chills as low as 10 degrees below zero.
The weathe service warned of heavy winds and hazardous driving conditions as the storm moves up the East Coast.
Schools in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Connecticut, Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky are sending students home early on Tuesday or staying closed for an extra day after the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.