Columbus County News Dot Com and WTXY will be providing updated lists of closings and delays throughout the storm, on air and online. Contact us on Facebook or email [email protected] with your closings and delays.
The second round of winter weather for 2022 will pick up where last weekend’s left off, bringing ice, freezing rain and frigid temperatures to Columbus starting Thursday.
The National Weather Service anticipates from one quarter to one half inch of ice across the area beginning Thursday night and extending into the overnight hours of Friday. Freezing conditions are likely through at least Saturday night, meaning that anything that thaws Saturday could refreeze.
The storm is being compared to a smaller version of the February 2014 ice storm that crippled the region for more than a week. Some homes were without power for days after that storm, while nighttime temperatures dropped to the teens and twenties. Whiteville spent thousands in storm debris cleanup. Then-City Manager Larry Faison compared the damage from the ice storm to a small hurricane.
Forecast wind velocities are anticipated at fifteen to twenty mile an hour winds during the event. That will lead to power outages across the area, the NWS said. Duke Progress Energy and Brunswick Electric Membership are preparing crews to respond to outages, despite having dispatched crews to central and western North Carolina last week for the first storm.
Barry Gelezinski of the Department of Transportation said brine trucks are at work in the county right now. DOT also has ten salt trucks assigned to Columbus.
“We are going to do all we can to keep the roads safe,” Gelezinski said, “but we can’t emphasize enough that people need to stay off the roads if they possibly can. Conditions are going to be dangerous, possibly into Saturday night.”
Bridges and overpasses will be especially treacherous, Gelezinski said.
“Elevated surfaces always collect ice and freezing rain first,” he said.
DOT officials are concerned that the rain preceding the ice will wash some of the treatment from roadways, but they plan to continue spraying.
“If we thaw and refreeze Saturday night,” he said, “We will be facing some challenges. We will be out working through the whole storm, but we are asking people to please be safe and stay home.
“A snow event would actually be much easier,” he said. “We can salt against the snow and push it. But that’s not the case here. All we can do is prepare.”
Assistant County Manager Nick West told commissioners Tuesday that preparations are underway to open shelters if conditions warrant. A decision about shelters will be made closer to the start of the storm.
“We are monitoring conditions and may open up the emergency operations center,” he said. West noted that the 911 Center and Emergency Services are in the process of moving to their new quarters on the downtown county complex, but the move will be put on hold while the storm impacts the area.
City emergency officials were prepared for last weekend’s storm, which brought only rain to Columbus County while dumping snow and ice in neighboring counties. Those preparations were put on hold in anticipation of the coming system.
County and city schools, already feeling the strain of COVID-19 personnel shortages, are also preparing for a rough few days.
“We are monitoring the storm closely in consultation with local emergency management officials and will make a call by midday Thursday,” Kelly Jones of the Columbus County school system said.
We have shared Meteorologist Christopher Cawley’s “plain English” briefing about the storm on the CCN website as well as social media. Chris will be along directly with a local forecast.
Columbus County News Dot Com and WTXY will be providing updated lists of closings and delays throughout the storm, on air and online. Contact us on Facebook or email[email protected] with your closings and delays.
