RALEIGH, N.C. (WNCN) — North Carolina Governor Josh Stein declared a State of Emergency Thursday afternoon in light of the Winter Weather Warning impacting much of the state Friday and into Saturday. Gov. Stein spoke Friday morning from the state's Emergency Operations Center at 11:30 a.m. The briefing focused on state preparation efforts, key warnings for the public and fielding questions. LATEST: Winter storm warning issued for central NC, up to 3" of snow still expected During the briefing, Stein and public safety officials provided updates from the multi-agency storm response effort underway with members of NC Dept. of Transportation, the NC Dept. of Public Safety, the N.C. National Guard and partners in debris removal and infrastructure restoration working around the clock. "At this time, our greatest concern is road safety," Gov. Stein said. "Precipitation and freezing temperatures tonight will make a mess of the roads on Saturday morning." Unless absolutely necessary, the governor urged people across the state to avoid travel during the storm and after when ice is a primary concern. By the numbers, an NCDOT spokesperson reported: 1,900 DOT employees and contractors have been involved in preparation work, 3 million gallons of brine have been used to pretreat roadways, 600 truck with plows and spreaders are ready to clear and treat roads, 300 graders are ready to help clear the roads, and 160,000 tons of salt are on standby to treat roads. William Ray, N.C.'s Director of Emergency Management said the greatest accumulations of snow are expected in the mountains, the foothills and Piedmont counties north of I-85. Areas along and south of I-85 have the greatest chance of seeing mixed precipitation, Ray added. "Hazardous travel conditions are expected today and may continue into Saturday night," Ray said. Stein, who has yet to give his inaugural address, was slated to have a public outdoor inauguration ceremony on Saturday in Raleigh alongside other statewide elected officials, but the approaching storm nixed those plans.