A winter storm brought between 1-4 inches of snow to Cherokee County on Friday, resulting in a spike in emergency services and two temporary road closures because of traffic accidents blamed on snowy conditions.
The National Weather Service’s office in Morristown, Tenn., released snowfall estimates for Cherokee County ranging from 4 inches in Andrews to 1 inch in Culberson:
- Andrews, 4 inches.
- Wolf Creek, 3.5 inches.
- Murphy, 3 inches.
- Tatham Gap, 2.2 inches.
- Unaka, 2 inches.
- Brasstown, 1.6 inches.
- Culberson, 1 inch.
The weather office advised that the numbers are estimated snowfall.
“It won’t be exact since snowfall amounts vary so much, but it should give a good idea for where the heaviest snow was,” the office said. “This event was a bit unique in that areas around Chattanooga (Tenn.) got more snow than many other places as there was drier air and more snowmelt occurring further north.”
After days of sub-freezing temperatures, snow descended on Cherokee County from the west, with the first real snowfall in Andrews about 10 a.m. Friday. By that time, Murphy and west of town already had a thick coat of snow on the ground.
Snow continued for much of Friday before it was replaced by freezing rain in many locations. By Saturday morning, the entire county was coated with snow covered by a crust of ice.
The winter storm made things complicated in Cherokee County, but it could have been worse.
“Dispatch received 279 calls during the 24-hour weather event, which was probably one of the easiest snow events I’ve ever worked,” said Theresa Creasman, director of Cherokee County E-911 Communications.
Between 9 a.m. Friday and 9 a.m. Saturday, calls for service included 40 by the Cherokee County Sheriff’s Office and 15 by the N.C. Highway Patrol.
A Federal Express big-rig overturned on U.S. 64/74 West near the Dollar General at 1:55 p.m., blocking westbound traffic until about 5 p.m.
Another accident blocked both directions of traffic on N.C. 294 near River Hills Road and the Tennessee line at 4:15 p.m.
Cherokee County Schools were closed Friday and remained closed through Tuesday because of continued icy coverage. Other local government offices were also closed, and the Cherokee County landfill was closed through the weekend.
The N.C. Department of Transportation was busy pre-treating highways and state roads leading up to the storm, and deploying snow plows during after the storm.
Many two-lane state roads and nearly all private roads were impassible later Friday. Numerous cars slipped off the roadway and wound up on embankments.
Cold weather is forecasted to continue for the next week or two, with rain predicted for Saturday and Sunday.