Winter storm brings snow, high winds to parts of region
Dec 21, 2012 (Menafn - Winston-Salem Journal - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) --A winter storm over the Great Lakes and the central Appalachian regions today dumped 1 to 2 { inches of snow in Ashe and Watauga counties and caused more than 10 flight delays at Piedmont Triad International Airport, disrupting holiday travel plans on the first day of winter.
Strong winds knocked out power to 1,676 Duke Energy customers in North and South Carolina, including 72 homes and businesses in Iredell County, according to the company's website.
A high-wind warning remains in effect in Ashe, Alleghany, Surry, Watauga and Wilkes counties through 6 p.m. Saturday, according to the National Weather Service in Blacksburg, Va.
A winter-weather advisory is effect in Ashe and Watauga counties until midnight. Westerly winds will range from 25 to 35 mph with gusts up to 75 mph, the weather service said.
In Winston-Salem, the westerly winds up to 25 mph swept through the city.
Lows tonight will range from the low 20s to mid 20s from Watauga to Surry counties, and to the high 20s in Forsyth and Davie counties, the weather service said.
The forecast for Saturday calls for sunny skies from Boone to Winston-Salem with highs from the mid 30s to the high 40s.
The weather service reported 1 inch of snow this morning in Jefferson and in the Sugar Grove community of Watauga County. About 2 { inches of snow fell 5 miles east of Boone.
Ashe and Watauga counties should receive 2 to 4 inches of snow by midnight, said Jim Hudgins, a weather-service meteorologist in Blacksburg, Va. The snowfall and high winds hasn't caused widespread damage in Northwest North Carolina, Hudgins said.
The storm caused fewer than 10 wrecks in Ashe and 10 to 20 crashes in Watauga, according to the N.C. Highway Patrol in Newton.
Crews with the N.C. Department of Transportation put salt on roads and highways in Ashe and Watauga counties, the DOT said.
In Western North Carolina, nearly 100 miles of the Blue Ridge Parkway has been closed because of the weather. The National Park Service says the risk of snow and ice prompted closures on two sections of the parkway.
The scenic route is closed from milepost 355 at Mount Mitchell in Yancey County to milepost 376 at Bull Gap in Buncombe County. The road is also closed from milepost 394 at N.C. 191 to the end of the parkway at U.S. 441 at Cherokee in Swain County.
At Piedmont Triad International Airport, the storm has delayed or cancelled 12 flights arriving or departing from the airport, said Stephanie Freeman, an airport spokeswoman.
"I am assuming that everyone is being re-routed," she said. "It's like this every Christmas. There is (winter) weather somewhere in the United States."
jhinton@wsjournal.com
(336) 727-7299
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
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