By Jesse Wood
The sun melted the dusting of snow that fell over the weekend. But more snow is forecasted to fall through Wednesday morning, according to RaysWeather.com.
“Batten down the hatches; the next couple days are going to be a wintry mess with wind developing tonight. A Nor’Easter takes shape off the Georgia Coast later today and then roars up the Atlantic Coast reaching New England tomorrow. New England gets plastered; we get a glancing blow,” according to the forecast discussion at RaysWeather.com.
The local weather outlet is forecasting one to three inches in the eastern third of northwest North Carolina, three to six inches in the western half and six-plus inches of snow for higher elevations, 4,000-feet and above. Click here to see RaysWeather.com’s forecast accumulation map.
Below is a release from the NCDOT on Sunday’s snow cleanup:
NCDOT Crews Clear Snow Before Lunch
Warmer temperatures, pre-storm treatments aid cleanup
N.C. Department of Transportation crews in western North Carolina cleared all interstates, primary highways and almost all secondary roads of snow in time to enjoy a Sunday afternoon lunch.
“We were done about lunch time,” said Ben Williams, maintenance engineer for Polk and Transylvania Counties. “We had a lot of folks doing a lot of good work before the storm and once it hit, they were going good.”
A winter storm dropped 2-6 inches of snow across a 25-county section of western North Carolina on Saturday night. Teams began 12-hour shifts Saturday afternoon and treated roads with a brine solution prior to the storm.
The sun warmed high-traffic roads like Interstate 77, I-40 and I-26. Snow also melted on primary highways like U.S. 64 and U.S. 421, as well as less travelled roads in the mountains.
“All in all, this was a fairly uneventful snow storm,” said Wesley Grindstaff, Staff Maintenance Engineer for Division 14, which encompasses the 10 westernmost counties of the state. “Crews from each county worked through Saturday night and are wrapping things up today.”
Buncombe County crews were completing cleanup duties at 10 a.m. when county maintenance engineer Scott Killough reported that all primary and secondary roads were clear.
“A big difference between this storm and the one earlier in the year is that the temperatures worked in our advantage and we have bluebird skies today,” Killough said. “The guys have done a great job.”
Like many other counties, roads in Madison County are clear, but some secondary roads remain wet raising the possibility of ice when the temperature drops. Crews will be working throughout the night to address areas that may develop icy spots.
Such dangerous spots may form overnight requiring drivers to slow down and remain alert at all times.
For real-time travel information, visit DriveNC.gov or follow NCDOT on Twitter.