By Staff
Staff, Wire Reports
A winter storm kept local law-enforcement agencies and emergency-response personnel busy responding to crashes and other weather-related incidents Thursday.
Snow, sleet and freezing rain fell across eastern North Carolina on Thursday morning, leaving some roads icy and posing danger to motorists.
The Washington Police Department reported four traffic accidents in the city limits Thursday. No major injuries occurred as a result of these accidents, according to the department’s telecommunications staff. The accidents still were under investigation, but they appeared to be weather-related.
The N.C. Highway Patrol said several weather-related vehicular accidents took place Thursday in Beaufort County. Little further information was immediately available Thursday afternoon, as patrolmen were still out responding to these accidents.
One man was killed in a wreck when a pickup truck and a car collided on a road near Fayetteville, Highway Patrol Sgt. Jeff Gordon said. The man’s name had not been released while relatives were located.
Many schools across the state were closed or were opening late because of the icy conditions.
Up to an inch of snow was expected in the Winston-Salem and Greensboro areas Thursday, the National Weather Service said. The precipitation was changing to freezing rain in the Raleigh-Durham area late Thursday morning.
In western North Carolina, up to six inches of snow was expected around Boone, with one to three inches expected around Wilkesboro and only light sleet and freezing rain in the Asheville area.
Only a dusting of snow and sleet was expected in the Charlotte area, though up to one inch could accumulate north of Interstate 40.
Light snow and sleet were reported in eastern North Carolina, though no accumulation was expected in the Jacksonville and Wilmington areas. Up to two inches of snow was expected around Elizabeth City in the northeastern corner of the state.
Transportation Department officials said snow and ice were causing problems, especially along I-40 from Asheville into Tennessee. The agency warned motorists in western and central North Carolina to avoid travel before noon if possible.
No serious problems were reported with electric service. Duke Energy reported about 150 customers without service in the Rockingham area and another 70 around Charlotte. Progress Energy had about 70 customers without service, mostly around Jacksonville.