Burke County braces for snow

Once the National Weather Service issued a winter storm watch for Burke County, people started heading to the grocery stores, public works crews began preparing their snow gear and the county schools went on the lookout for dangerous road conditions.

The National Weather Service said a storm developing in the Gulf of Mexico is moving toward North Carolina and could bring up to 14 inches of snow Friday to the northwestern portion and higher elevations of Burke County. The snow will taper off toward the southeastern end of the county, which is projected to receive 4.5 inches of snow.

Snow is expected to fall through Saturday morning over most of the county and through Sunday over the northwestern end and higher elevations.

Today county residents started clearing the grocery store shelves of bread, milk and eggs as weather forecasts continued announcing snow.

Jason Henson, assistant manager at Food Lion, 120 Bost Road, said business was going strong.
"(The storm) is the talk of the store right now," Henson said. "(Customers) usually come in and do more shopping right before a snow scare."

Henson said people weren't buying only the usual bread, milk and eggs, but were picking up frozen foods and "just about anything they can get their hands on — anything easy and quick to fix."

Jasmine Blankenship, assistant manager at Bi-Lo, 1555 E. Union St., said the store had almost twice as many customers as normal for a Thursday.

"It all just started after lunch," Blankenship said. "They are mentioning the storm."

Bi-Lo customers seemed to be stocking up on meat, she said.

County residents aren't the only ones taking action. Local road crews sprang into action in anticipation
of the storm.

Tim Anderson, N.C. Department of Transportation county maintenance engineer, said today workers began treating higher-volume traffic routes with salt brine. They also prepared snow and ice equipment.

The National Weather Service's prediction in the late afternoon today was that the snow will start about 9 a.m.

Crews will be available before 7 a.m. Friday if needed, Anderson said. The crews will work in shifts throughout the day until the snow is cleared.

The county is broken into 10 sections and each is assigned a crew, Anderson said. Those crews will treat state-maintained roads with salt, sand and snowplows throughout the day.

Roads that have a four-digit number on stop signs are state-maintained roads, Anderson said.

The City of Morganton got a jumpstart on the storm, too.

Director of Public Works Scott Lookadoo said the snowplows are ready and the shifts have been assigned.

"We're in full snowstorm mode," Lookadoo said. "The question is whether it begins as rain or snow."

If snow accumulates by noon Friday, the department will begin plowing streets. If there is significant snow accumulation later in the day, the department will plow throughout the night when the temperatures may be above freezing.

Public works will clear high-traffic streets first before entering neighborhoods, Lookadoo said. He cautioned residents to not park in the street to assist with the plowing.

Burke County Public Schools are getting ready for the winter storm, too, and plan to send out road crews by 3 a.m. Friday.

Transportation Director Doug Setzer said the schools incorporate their road crews' reports with recommendations from the N.C. Highway Patrol, N.C. DOT and Burke County Emergency Services before deciding whether to close schools for the day.

Setzer said snow, sleet and ice are taken into consideration not only for buses, but also for student drivers, staff and parents taking their children to school.

"Safety is our No. 1 priority," Setzer said. "We don't want anyone out there with a problem of not making it to school."

The final decision on closing schools will come from Superintendent Art Stellar. Setzer said the administration tries to make a decision before 5:30 a.m., which is posted on the weather hotline at 433-8047 and on the schools' Web site at www.burke.k12.nc.us.