Spring surprise: Snow

By Rose Hooper

Weather conditions closed Jackson County Public Schools Tuesday. Wednesday, Blue Ridge School remained closed Wednesday, and buses didn't run on icy roads.

Tuesday several Smoky Mountain High School students decided to take advantage of their day off and head to the Asheville Mall. Those who weren't stuck in the snowbound traffic on I-40 were surprised to discover that the hazardous weather conditions in Buncombe County closed the mall for the day.

While snow surrounded Jackson County, many parts of the county received significant accumulations, including Sapphire Valley where it reached 11 inches, Pin Hook Gap with eight inches, Cashiers with six to nine inches and Balsam with six inches to a foot, depending on elevation.

Temperatures hovered around the precarious 32 degree freezing mark, causing precipitation in some parts of the county to fall as snow, while in the Sylva area it fell as rain. The only accumulations downtown were the chunks of snow falling on the highway from passing vehicles. Some 3,000 to 4,000 Duke Power customers in Western North Carolina were without power, but only one line and one customer in Jackson County was affected, said Fred Alexander, Duke's district manager.

Mike Ensley, county emergency services coordinator, said he had the American Red Cross and the Department of Social Services on standby to open an emergency shelter in case the weather got worse. "Luckily, it got better instead,"he said.

"While the counties around us got the brunt of it, Jackson County didn't have any major problems,"he said. "We did have some trees down and some minor vehicle accidents." The Jackson County Sheriff's Department worked the Balsam area, assisting stranded motorists.

Back to Archive: 03/22/01.