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Bridge Street in Washington was quiet Saturday afternoon, as motorists avoided the roads due to hazardous conditions caused by ice and snow. (Brandon Tester / Washington Daily News)

A blanket of snow covered Washington Yacht and Country Club on Saturday. (Alexis Sideris Davis)

Last weekend’s snowstorm rendered many local roads temporarily impassable. Local officials advised everyone except essential workers and those experiencing emergencies to stay home Saturday. (Amelia Chrismon)

Beaufort County residents woke up Saturday morning to several feet of snow in some areas. (Desmond Wilson)

Boots were a necessity after the weekend storm rolled through Beaufort County. (Brandon Tester / Washington Daily News)

This picture shows the intersection of Gladden and Second streets on Saturday afternoon. Crews worked throughout the weekend to clear major roadways throughout the area. (Brandon Tester / Washington Daily News)

A winter storm brought as many as 4.5 inches of snow and small accumulations of ice to Beaufort County over the weekend.

County residents saw little to no wintry precipitation Friday morning and afternoon. But conditions deteriorated as the sun went down and temperatures dropped. Sleet started falling in the evening, followed by snow overnight.

The winter storm of Jan. 21-23 affected most of eastern North Carolina. Icing was a major issue south of Beaufort County. The National Weather Service said the most significant icing happened from southeast Duplin County east through Onslow, southern Jones, Carteret, southern Craven and Pamlico counties. Those areas saw ice accumulations ranging from a quarter-inch to a half-inch.

“The winter storm of Jan. 21 – 22, 2022 will go down as a memorable ice storm, especially for areas from near Jacksonville to Cape Carteret, Maysville, Morehead City, Newport and Oriental,” the NWS Newport/Morehead City office said in an update on its website. “In these areas between quarter-inch and half-inch” of ice fell (freezing rain), the most widespread and heaviest icing since at least the late 90s (when our office opened in this area).  An ice storm warning was issued by our office for the first time ever.  Farther north a wintry mix of sleet and snow produced a general 1 to 4 inches of snow, with some isolated higher totals. Mainly rain fell on the Outer Banks, but from Manteo and Nags Head north, up to 2 inches of snow fell.”

As expected, eastern NC municipalities farthest to the north received the most snow. Based on regional observations collected by the NWS, Washington and Greenville saw between 3 and 4 inches of snow in several areas. Parts of Aurora and other areas farther east received substantially less snow, but did see slightly larger ice accumulations.

The NWS said the most significant impacts from the storm were power outages and hazardous roads Friday through Saturday. Multiple bridges were closed in New Bern, Jacksonville and across the Morehead City area.

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