Approaching winter weather cancels North Carolina inauguration ceremony

RALEIGH, N.C. — North Carolina's public inauguration ceremony scheduled for Saturday for new Gov. Josh Stein and other statewide elected officials has been canceled because of approaching winter weather, the state inaugural committee announced Wednesday.

The ceremony was scheduled for Saturday morning on the grounds of the old Capitol building in downtown Raleigh. Stein and Council of State members were to be sworn in publicly.

The National Weather Service in Raleigh has forecast wintry weather for Friday and Saturday for central North Carolina, with potentially 1 to 3 inches (2.5 to 7.6 centimeters) or snow in some areas and sleet and freezing rain.

Stein and several Council of State members — the lieutenant governor, attorney general and state treasurer — already have taken their official oaths in private or in small ceremonies early in the new year.

The committee also cancelled a block party scheduled near the Capitol for after the ceremony and an open house at the Executive Mansion on Sunday, according to a news release. The block party may be rescheduled. Stein still plans to deliver an inaugural address Saturday morning that will be streamed by North Carolina public television.

Stein said on X he had been ''looking forward to celebrating with so many of you'' but that ''everyone's safety is always my top priority.''

The cancellations mark another setback for North Carolina inauguration ceremonies during the recent past.

In 2017, approaching snow and sleet forced the cancellations of a public swearing-in ceremony and inaugural parade for new Gov. Roy Cooper. Four years later, after Cooper's reelection, COVID-19 restrictions for mass gatherings derailed open-air gatherings. Instead, a made-for-television inauguration ceremony for Cooper and other Council of State members was held outside the Executive Mansion.