🌱 Rain Coming + COVID Update + Charlotte Knights Surprise

Hey, Charlotte! Here's everything you need to know to get this Friday started off right.

First, today's weather:

Warm with periods of rain. High: 66 Low: 33.

Here are the top stories in Charlotte today:

1. 5 inches of rain could fall overnight in parts of NC mountains, prompting flood watch (Charlotte Observer)
2. Charlotte Knights expanding holiday offerings to include ice rink, snow tubing (WSOC Charlotte)
3. Union County Schools again end contact tracing, quarantines (Charlotte Observer)
4. This Weekend's Upcoming Charlotte Area Events (Charlotte Patch)
5. COVID-19: Over 20.1 Million Vaccines Have Been Distributed To North Carolina. This Is How Many The State Has Actually Given Out (24/7 Wall St. - Charlotte)

Today's Charlotte Daily is brought to you in part by our friends at Verizon. They're building the fastest 5G network in the country. To learn how 5G is going to change life for you and your community — and to get access to this amazing technology — click here. And thank you Verizon for sponsoring this community resource in Charlotte!

Today in Charlotte:

• Ribbon Cutting and Grand Opening of Retail Location - Kinetic by Windstream (10:00 AM)
• Basketball vs Olympic (AWAY) - South Mecklenburg High (10:30 AM)
• Craft & Sip - Wine Cork Valentine Heart (12:30 PM)
• Almost Maine Winter Play - East Mecklenburg High (1:00 PM)

From my notebook:

• Charlotte Fire Department, Charlotte NC: "Charlotte Firefighters from Rescue 10, @animalscmpd & @SuperiorCrane rescued a K9(Zeus) from the Vulcan Pineville Quarry in South CLT. Workers noticed the K9 on Monday & called 911; due to unstable footing firefighters were lowered by a ..." (Facebook)
• Charlotte Ballet: "Exciting News from Charlotte Ballet II and Charlotte Ballet Academy! Congratulations to Pre-Pro, Jacy Klein, for being promoted to Charlotte Ballet II Artist! Jacy trained in Cincinnati Ballet's Professional Training Division from 2018-2..." (Facebook)
• ArtPop Street Gallery: "We personally miiiight have had our fingers crossed in hopes for spring this #groundhogday, but we can find the beauty in 6 more weeks of winter! ❄️⁠ ⁠ We love the stillness and the warmth of this piece by #ArtPopCLT artist, Eva Crawford..." (Instagram)
• CMPD Animal Care and Control: "7 adoptions on 2/2 (plus 5 dogs and 1 cat) #ACCadopted" (Facebook)
• CMPD Animal Care and Control: "Thank you to Elsa's Pride rescue for taking this mom and her babies (if not reclaimed)." (Facebook)

More from our sponsors — thanks for supporting local news!

Events:

• Co-Parenting, Alimony & Child Support – Vesta's Charlotte, NC Hub (February 8)
• Add your event

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You're officially in the loop for today! I'll be back in your inbox tomorrow with another update.

— Cassie Fambro

About me: A Texas-native, I've spent most of my life in Alabama but have recently moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. I have an avid interest in motorsports, so this makes the Carolinas an ideal region to call home. I have a decade of experience in journalism, graduating from the University of South Alabama with honors in journalism with a double major in psychology and a minor in criminal justice. I spent roughly five years of my career in front of a camera in TV news but I have spent years in print journalism and even earned a couple of cool awards like an Edward R. Murrow award along the way. I enjoy covering stories in education, healthcare, government and most of all, stories that directly help people and improve their lives in some way. Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with my partner Matt, and our two cats, Kenly and Gotenks, going to new restaurants and hanging out at racetracks.