News Flash

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning for Durham beginning at midnight on Wednesday, February 17 and continuing into the morning on Friday, February 19. Significant ice accumulation is expected, with a possibility of power outages across the northern portion of the state.   

The City encourages residents to prepare, stay informed, and stay home during the winter storm: 

• Visit the National Weather Service website for the latest forecast 
• Prepare a Winter Weather Safety Kit 
• Sign up for local emergency notifications from Alert Durham 
• Residents are encouraged to follow the City’s Facebook page, Twitter feed, and Instagram page to get up-to-date information about City operations, facilities, and services.

City Service & Facility Updates 

Yard Waste Collection

Yard Waste customers scheduled for collection on Friday, Feb. 19 should place their carts at the curb as usual. If icy weather conditions prevent our Solid Waste crews from collecting tomorrow, please leave your carts at the curb and they will collect them on Saturday, Feb. 20.

To receive daily service updates regarding curbside collections, residents are encouraged to download the free Durham Rollout app for iPhone and Android devices.

Report Power Outages 

Power outages and downed power lines should be reported directly to: 

Duke Energy

• Report an outage online or by calling 1-800-POWER-ON or 1-800-419-6356 
• Visit the Duke Energy website to view an outage map or sign up for alerts 

Piedmont Electric Membership Corporation 

• Report an outage via SmartHub or by calling 1-800-222-3107 or 1-800-449-2667 
• View Pidemont Electric outage restoration updates map 

Report Downed Trees 

Residents are urged to not touch downed trees or branches that are tangled up with power lines. 

• If the downed tree presents an immediate, life-threatening hazard call 911. 
• To report downed trees on City-maintained streets, residents should contact the Durham Emergency Communications Center non-emergency line at 919-560-4600. 
• Residents and property owners are responsible for downed tree removal on private property, driveways, apartment access roads, parking lots, and sidewalks.  

Snow Removal 

The Public Works Department began brining earlier today on all primary roadways and bridges since temperatures are projected to be below freezing when the rain begins later tonight. Crews will also be working overnight to place additional brine and sand-and-salt mix on primary roadways and bridge routes using 15 trucks with plows to help keep ice accumulation as minimal as possible. Learn more about the snow removal process and what order streets are cleared. 

• During major snowstorms, the City encourages residents to stay home if at all possible. If residents must travel, they should make every effort to use major thoroughfares that have been plowed and/or treated with sand and salt. 
• Residents should also make every effort to move or park their vehicles on side streets, leaving the primary and secondary streets open and accessible for plowing operations and for use by police, fire, and other public safety vehicles 
• Residents and property owners are also responsible for snow and ice removal in their driveways, apartment access roads, parking lots, and sidewalks. The clearing of private streets is the responsibility of the homeowners within that subdivision.