Beaufort County residents woke Tuesday to a landscape covered in ice and with the weather event came the requisite accessories: power outages, road and school closures and a few car accidents on treacherous roads.

But according to local officials, the precipitation may have stopped but the wintry weather event and its affects are not over yet. As a follow-up, record-low temperatures this week will continue to make travel dangerous and schools prepared to close or enact delays.

 

Schools closed again Wednesday

Beaufort County Schools and Beaufort County Community College will remain closed Wednesday due to the weather, topped by hazardous driving conditions.

Beaufort County Schools took a day off due to inclement weather Tuesday as getting children to school was predicted to be an icy affair. School officials are taking no chances with safety as temperatures will remain near or below freezing through Friday and travel remains hazardous. Beaufort County Schools are calling Wednesday an optional teacher work day and all facilities will open at 10 a.m.

 

Roads remain hazardous

Though roads were icy after the overnight storm that coated eastern North Carolina in a sheet of ice, as of Tuesday afternoon there were no road closures reported in Beaufort County.

Earlier Tuesday, Back Creek Bridge in Bath was closed due to a downed power line; U.S. Highway 264 East was partially closed because of a truck accident; Pungo Creek Road was also partially closed; and the Bayview-Aurora ferry had suspended service due to the icy conditions. By mid-afternoon Tuesday, the ferry was back in service.

Beaufort County Emergency Management officials said there were few accidents, but the news is no reason for county drivers to let their guard down for the rest of the week.

“We’re looking at it refreezing tonight. Whatever is here this afternoon is going to refreeze tonight. Driving conditions for the rest of the week, late at night and early in the morning — people need to be very cautious. They need to slow down. They don’t need to drive after dark if they can avoid it,” said Lisa Respess, Emergency Management technician. “After dark, it’s going to be treacherous and it’s going to truly be black ice. This kind of ice, you can’t see — it looks like a puddle of water on the road and it’s a sheet of ice.”

As temperatures continue to plunge into the teens and single digits through the rest of the week, travel around the county will continue to be dangerous. One thing that drivers need to pay particular attention to, Respess said, is clearing their windshields, side and back windows so they have maximum visibility. It might take longer, but eradicating blind spots can prevent accidents.

“People need to just plan ahead: they need to prepare their vehicles, as in warming them up, defrosting the windows,” Respess said.

 

Power outages, shelter opened

Over a thousand residents on the south side of the Pamlico River were without power Tuesday morning as temperatures hovered near freezing then quickly dropped again.

By late afternoon, the number of homes without power had dwindled to about 500 Duke Progress Energy customers in and around Aurora, but with temperatures continuing to drop, Beaufort County Emergency Management made the call to open an emergency shelter at Southside High School. Emergency Management set up transportation from the Aurora Fire Department to the high school.

Only sporadic outages were reported on the north side of the river Tuesday morning, but Respess said they were quickly up and running again.

According to Beaufort County Emergency Management Coordinator John Pack, county residents need to be cautious with supplemental heating sources, especially making sure that they are well-ventilated. Generators should be kept either outside or in a well-ventilated garage so carbon monoxide fumes cannot build up and seep into the house; and rooms heated kerosene heaters should have a window cracked.

A hazardous weather outlook is still in effect for the county and temperatures will only climb to the mid-20s on Thursday and Friday, and lows will plummet into the single digits on Thursday night and mid-teens on Wednesday and Friday nights.

 

Beaufort County residents woke Tuesday to a landscape covered in ice and with the weather event came the requisite accessories: power outages, road and school closures and a few car accidents on treacherous roads.

But according to local officials, the precipitation may have stopped but the wintry weather event and its affects are not over yet. As a follow-up, record-low temperatures this week will continue to make travel dangerous and schools prepared to close or enact delays.

 

Schools closed again Wednesday

Beaufort County Schools and Beaufort County Community College will remain closed Wednesday due to the weather, topped by hazardous driving conditions.

Beaufort County Schools took a day off due to inclement weather Tuesday as getting children to school was predicted to be an icy affair. School officials are taking no chances with safety as temperatures will remain near or below freezing through Friday and travel remains hazardous. Beaufort County Schools are calling Wednesday an optional teacher work day and all facilities will open at 10 a.m.

 

Roads remain hazardous

Though roads were icy after the overnight storm that coated eastern North Carolina in a sheet of ice, as of Tuesday afternoon there were no road closures reported in Beaufort County.

Earlier Tuesday, Back Creek Bridge in Bath was closed due to a downed power line; U.S. Highway 264 East was partially closed because of a truck accident; Pungo Creek Road was also partially closed; and the Bayview-Aurora ferry had suspended service due to the icy conditions. By mid-afternoon Tuesday, the ferry was back in service.

Beaufort County Emergency Management officials said there were few accidents, but the news is no reason for county drivers to let their guard down for the rest of the week.

“We’re looking at it refreezing tonight. Whatever is here this afternoon is going to refreeze tonight. Driving conditions for the rest of the week, late at night and early in the morning — people need to be very cautious. They need to slow down. They don’t need to drive after dark if they can avoid it,” said Lisa Respess, Emergency Management technician. “After dark, it’s going to be treacherous and it’s going to truly be black ice. This kind of ice, you can’t see — it looks like a puddle of water on the road and it’s a sheet of ice.”

As temperatures continue to plunge into the teens and single digits through the rest of the week, travel around the county will continue to be dangerous. One thing that drivers need to pay particular attention to, Respess said, is clearing their windshields, side and back windows so they have maximum visibility. It might take longer, but eradicating blind spots can prevent accidents.

“People need to just plan ahead: they need to prepare their vehicles, as in warming them up, defrosting the windows,” Respess said.

 

Power outages, shelter opened

Over a thousand residents on the south side of the Pamlico River were without power Tuesday morning as temperatures hovered near freezing then quickly dropped again.

By late afternoon, the number of homes without power had dwindled to about 500 Duke Progress Energy customers in and around Aurora, but with temperatures continuing to drop, Beaufort County Emergency Management made the call to open an emergency shelter at Southside High School. Emergency Management set up transportation from the Aurora Fire Department to the high school.

Only sporadic outages were reported on the north side of the river Tuesday morning, but Respess said they were quickly up and running again.

According to Beaufort County Emergency Management Coordinator John Pack, county residents need to be cautious with supplemental heating sources, especially making sure that they are well-ventilated. Generators should be kept either outside or in a well-ventilated garage so carbon monoxide fumes cannot build up and seep into the house; and rooms heated kerosene heaters should have a window cracked.

A hazardous weather outlook is still in effect for the county and temperatures will only climb to the mid-20s on Thursday and Friday, and lows will plummet into the single digits on Thursday night and mid-teens on Wednesday and Friday nights.