Murphy – Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow Monday, a traditional harbinger of six more weeks of winter, but Cherokee County residents may have had their fill of winter following two weekends of winter storm warnings and 4 inches of snow Saturday.
There’s no scientific reason why a groundhog seeing his shadow in Punxsutawney, Pa., on Feb. 2 would prove anything about winter other there was a break in the clouds at that precise moment.
If anything, Punxsutawney Phil’s predictions are the polar opposite.
Punxsutawney Phil’s weather predictions are generally inaccurate, with a success rate of 35-39% since 1887. According to Stormfax Weather Almanac, he has only been right four times. NOAA data show his predictions align with national temperatures only 35% of the time.
So Phil seeing his shadow may actually be a good thing if an early end to winter is your thing, statistically speaking. That said, Staten Island Chuck, who has an 85% accuracy rate, also saw his shadow Monday, so there’s that.
Fatality on highway
A Murphy man was killed in a traffic accident that the N.C. Highway Patrol is saying was weather related. According to published reports, the crash happened Sunday on N.C. 294 in Cherokee County near the Tennessee line.
A vehicle ran off the road and overturned in a crash that was related to the road conditions. The Highway Patrol reported that excessive speed during those road conditions and not wearing a seat belt contributed to this collision.
Robert Walker, 57, of Murphy, who was identified as the driver, was pronounced dead at the scene. Dozens of wrecks were reported in Cherokee and surrounding counties over the weekend.
A mild winter, until …
Except for snowfall back in November, winter has been uneventful – that is until the last two weekends.
Two weeks ago, Cherokee County escaped an ice storm that was predicted to cripple the region and led to emergency declarations in Murphy, Andrews, Cherokee County and throughout the state.
That storm largely bypassed Cherokee County, but a few days later, forecasters warned of another weekend storm, this time bringing snow – and this time, they were right.
Cherokee County saw 3-4 inches of snow in Murphy and Andrews, with more recorded at higher elevations.
Residents were already ready following preparations they made for the previous weekend that fizzled out.
The snow arrived later than predicted – a 7 p.m. Friday arrival was in some forecasts. Most of Cherokee County went to bed Friday with flurries at most, but awoke to a winter wonderland.
Snowfall was significant enough that N.C. Department of Transportation crews couldn’t keep up. Either more snow kept falling, or roads froze over after NCDOT equipment treated them.
Temperatures in the single digits didn’t help, either.
On Monday, Cherokee County shut down. Murphy cancelled its town council meeting and, later, simply stayed closed for the day. Cherokee County schools were also closed.
Compared with the rest of North Carolina, Cherokee County got off light. The N.C. National Guard was called into help clear a massive weather-caused traffic jam in Charlotte, and farther east toward the coast, some areas received 2 feet of snow.
Whether Cherokee County can weather another six weeks of winter weather remains to be seen.