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RALEIGH, NC (WNCN) — As snow and ice hit North Carolina on Sunday and freezing rain Monday night, the NC DOT and Duke Energy have sent out crews prepared for slippery roads and power outages.
However, the mild winter weather had plenty for some people.
“We were in the mountains this weekend, so we saw a lot of snow there. So it was nice to see it here,” said Hannan Kifner, who lives in Durham.
Hannan and her sister Ruby saw the snow drifts recede on Sunday, and both said they hoped for more snow in the future, which Ruby said she had never experienced before.
“That’s always fun. I like not studying because of the snow,” Hannan said.
With Durham schools delaying start times by two hours on Monday, the girls almost got their wish. The events also surprised the Duke students back in town.
“We get very little snow up north, so I was a little surprised to see it as we got into North Carolina. It’s usually pretty hot down here,” said Duke student Bo Aldridge.
For Aldridge and his friend Mark McDonough, snow is nothing new to them coming from Philadelphia.
“I was a little disappointed. “We’re actually supposed to get, like, six inches in Philadelphia, and that’s supposed to happen tomorrow, so I’m bummed we’re going out today,” McDonough said. “But it was nice to see a little bit of winter weather on the way down.”
It may be good for them, but for government agencies, it means more work. The North Carolina Department of Transportation has been keeping an eye on the forecast for several days.
“On Saturday, we made the decision to continue applying salt brine to the I-85 tunnel,” said division maintenance engineer Doug McNeal. He said they started placing salt water starting in Orange County and continuing to the Virginia border.
McNeal said the agency is focusing on roads that tend to freeze first, such as bridge decks.
“We will have farm trucks with spreaders that can put salt or salt and sand on the bridges as they start to slide tonight,” he said.
However, McNeal said the morning commute hours, between 5 and 10 a.m. are the most worrisome, so it’s best if people stay home if possible. Duke Energy spokesman Jeff Brooks said the same.
“You increase the risk of cars, you know, losing control and hitting a pole and causing a problem,” said Brooks.
Brooks said snow accumulation on tree branches is another concern. Those limbs can break if the snow is too heavy and falls on power lines. He added that workers are on alert to fix the outage as soon as possible.
“It’s not just an inconvenience if you’re cold and you rely on electricity for heating, to get your basic needs, that’s really important, and that’s what we consider important in times like this,” he said.
McNeal said if you have to drive, especially on Monday morning, it’s a good idea to check driveNC.gov to find out what road conditions are like.
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