Meteorologist Robyn Brown with the National Weather Service in Blacksburg, Va., said Surry County was placed under a winter storm warning as of 9 p.m. last night. The warning will continue until 4 p.m. Saturday.
Brown said she expected the snow to start falling around midnight and continue until midday today when it will switch over to sleet or freezing rain. She said the main concern with this storm is falling trees and power lines.
“The ground is pretty saturated and the trees are pretty wet as it is, it’s possible with getting that much ice, a quarter inch or more, hanging on the trees there is a possibility to make the trees topple,” Brown said.
John Shelton, Surry County Emergency Services director, is expecting a major weather event.
“It’s a large storm. We dread the ice. I think we are looking at really bad roads. Travel with ice will be very, very dangerous. We’ve got everything ready to roll, with call-in personnel on standby. Dispatch, fire and rescue are all on standby like we were with the last storm. Our concern this time more than anything is power lines and the trees if we are getting ice,” Shelton said.
Shelton urges everyone to stay home unless they absolutely have to get out in the storm. He said in addition to the hazards of driving, he warned that if a significant amount of ice falls in the area for people to be careful out walking.
“We have a lot of broken arms, legs and hips this time of year as a result of ice. So we are telling people if they have to get outdoors at home, be sure to know where you are walking that the surface is dry and not slick. If you are out there walking, make sure you are in the appropriate shoes and apparel to be out in it,” Shelton said.
He said those with existing medical conditions also need to be careful when heading outdoors.
“They need to make sure they keep their heads, their necks and their hands and feet warm. They need to make sure they are only out there a short period of time. This kind of weather is very detrimental to those who have cardiovascular disease and respiratory illnesses,” Shelton said.
Mark Williams, N.C. Department of Transportation county maintenance engineer, said his crews are ready for the impending storm.
“We’ve put all of our contractors on standby,” said Williams. “They didn’t put out brine in advance of this one because it might start out as rain, plus there is enough residual salt on the roads from the last storm and that will have the same effect as putting fresh brine down,” Williams said.
“Once it hits, we stay with it until the roads are clear. We are stocked to the hilt with salt. We are ready for it,” Williams said.
Jimmy Flythe, district manager with Duke Energy, said the company is expecting a significant weather event and they are preparing to handle outages as they arise.
“This has the potential be a significant outage event if we a half inch of ice. Once you get a quarter of an inch is when we start seeing tree limbs break and trees falling over or leaning over into the power lines. Obviously the more that goes up, the more outages we have. We are lining up all of our personnel and making sure they are ready to go,” Flythe said.
“I would encourage folks to have a plan. When we have a major ice storm like this it’s going to take several days to get all the power restored. Folks need to have a plan to be able to get by for three days with water, food staples, batteries for flashlights and that sort of thing,” Flythe said.
For those who encounter downed power lines, Flythe said, that emergency personnel should be contacted right away.
“We just encourage everyone to steer clear of any downed power lines no matter how safe it may look. If it’s not sparking that doesn’t mean that it’s dead. Our linemen have the proper equipment and training to handle a downed line,” Flythe said.
He said that more information about what to do in the case of a power outage and power outage information is available at www.duke-energy.com
Shelton urges citizens to check the Surry County Public Safety Portal at www.co.surry.nc.us and then click on Public Safety. Warnings and information is updated in real time on that site.
To report power outages with Duke Energy, call 1-800-Power-On.
Contact Mondee Tilley at mtilley@mtairynews.com or at 719-1930.
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