By Steve Huffman
Salisbury Post
Thursday’s weather conditions could be described in a single word:
Blech!
Though a couple of inches of snow and plenty of freezing rain forced the cancellation of area schools, conditions were anything but ideal for a stroll through a winter wonderland.
In fact, far more children spent the day hunkered down in front of video games than outdoors trying to build snowmen.
“It’s not what you’d call a significant winter storm,” said Andy Thompson, a spokesman for Duke Energy. “As storms go, this one really wasn’t much.”
It started out better than it ended.
In Thursday’s wee hours, snow began falling across Rowan and surrounding counties. Those who were up to witness it said the snow was beautiful, falling in huge flakes.
But by the time dawn broke, the snow had ó as Dan Fogelberg might have said ó turned into rain.
Thompson said the good news was ó despite the fact that the temperature never climbed much above freezing ó there was little in the way of ice on power lines.
About 4 p.m. Thursday, Duke Energy reported only 90 customers without service in Rowan County and a little more than 4,000 throughout the power company’s coverage area, which includes much of North and South Carolina.
Salisbury’s Carole Parrott said her three children ó Caroline, 10, and 6-year-old twins Carsyn and Harrison ó were delighted to be out of school, and the trio went out to play about 8:30 a.m.
But Carole said they returned indoors after about 20 minutes, when the rain got the best of them.
“It was awful,” Carole said of conditions.
She said her children spent the remainder of the day playing indoors.
“We weren’t very exciting today,” Carole admitted.
At the Hurley Family YMCA on Jake Alexander Boulevard, Executive Director Sandy Flowers said plenty of people were waiting to get inside when the facility opened late ó at noon. The opening was delayed because of the weather, just as it was delayed at all the YMCAs in the county.
But once the doors were opened, the hordes descended on the facility.
“We’ve really got a crowd in here today,” Flowers said.
Andrew Kimball, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service, said that while the temperature is expected to reach climb close to 50 degrees today, there’s a chance for more inclement weather Saturday.
Kimball said the temperature will drop tonight, and meteorologists are watching an approaching weather system closely.
He said a mix of snow and ice is a possibility early Saturday.
“We could see a mix with an accumulation,” Kimball said. “Right now, we’re still ironing out the details.”
Regardless, the temperature is expected to remain downright nippy through the weekend, with lows in the teens on Saturday night and possibly even lower on Sunday night.
nnnContact Steve Huffman at 704-797-4222 or shuffman@salisburypost.com.