Burke County may have dodged most of the winter storm this past weekend, but more winter precipitation may be on its way. The National Weather Service is forecasting a mix of freezing rain, sleet and snow early Tuesday that will turn into rainfall by the afternoon.
The extra precipitation in the area led to flood advisories at Lake James and Lake Rhodhiss. National Weather Service at the Greenville-Spartanburg Airport Meteorologist Patrick Moore said low-lying and flood-prone areas of those lakes could have water problems.
The storm system that passed through during the weekend left 2.32 inches of precipitation in Hickory, Moore said. Official measurements at Broughton Hospital's weather center recorded 2 inches of snow on Friday and a total of 2.23 inches of precipitation Friday and Saturday.
Duke Energy's outage Web site reported 131 Burke County users without power Saturday afternoon.
Local officials in Burke did not report any major issues.
Darrell Dean, Burke County transportation supervisor of the North Carolina Department of Transportation, said other than a few downed trees, there weren't any problems over the weekend.
Dean said the county should be receiving a supply of salt in time for any icy weather on Tuesday.
"We'll be checking our equipment and making sure everything's working," Dean said.
The City of Morganton is similarly well stocked, Public Works Director Scott Lookadoo reported.
Valdese Town Manager Jeff Morse said the town uses sand to combat the wintry weather. The Valdese Town Council just purchased two additional snow blades as well.
But the rain and precipitation has created a challenge for the town's sewer system, Morse said.
"Fortunately we were able to stay ahead of it by calling septic companies to pump out one of our pump stations," Morse said.
N.C. Highway Patrol Sgt. Mark Cline said there were slightly more vehicular wrecks during the weekend than normal, but "nothing out of the ordinary."
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