WET WEATHER — In the photo above, Bledsoe Creek appears to be about twice its normal size soon after a brief snowfall last Thursday. Sparta only had small accumulations. In the photo at left, Farmers Fish Camp Bridge is covered with water and debris after last week's precipitation.

Snow and flooding prove minor for most parts of the county

While April showers are well renowned, April snow showers are much less common. However, that's just what happened last Thursday in the county, with the heaviest accumulations gathering in the westernmost portions of the county.

According to unofficial estimates by local North Carolina Department of Transportation employees, amounts varied from as little as one inch to as much as six inches of accumulation.

The snowfall capped off a week of mostly rainy weather, contributing to minor flooding in some areas of the county.

According to data from the Upper Mountain Research Station in Laurel Springs, snowfall totals last Thursday reached six inches there. Overall precipitation amounts last week alone totaled 3.93 inches, leading to minor flooding. Even so, no flooding was reported in the Laurel Springs area.

Snowfall totals varied widely in the county, with Sparta only receiving a small amount of wet snow, less than two inches in most areas.

Meanwhile, local streams edged out of their banks in many instances, but did not cause many road closures in the county. Only one bridge, the low-water bridge on Farmers Fish Camp Road over Little River, was closed due to floodwaters. That bridge reopened on Saturday after the waters receded and N.C. DOT employees removed a 'log jam' from one end and cleared away other debris.

County Maintenance Engineer Brandon Whitaker said several locations where water was over the roadway. "Most of the roads opened pretty quickly," Whitaker said. "It was just a matter of giving the water time to subside. Our main priority at the time was getting snow off the roadway, rather than worrying about the water." DOT's Bridge Maintenance Division came to the county to assist with checking bridges and clearing them of debris.

Whitaker said the heaviest snowfall was in the area of N.C. 18 south. "That was probably the worst location," he said. "There was some up toward the Piney Creek area, N.C. 113 and U.S. 221, but that probably wasn't as bad as N.C. 18 was."

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