RALPH KILLON makes his way down Wagoner Ridge Road with a tractor and bucket early Saturday afternoon. He was among many tractor owners who were helping neighbors with their driveways. Photo by Laura Thornburg

Blizzard fizzles, but more weather is on the way

Alleghany County had a quiet weekend while 6 or 7 inches of snow fell, local emergency officials said.

Snow began falling around dusk Friday and had stopped in most areas by Saturday evening. Accumulations fell short of the 10 to 16 inches that had been forecast for this area, but the storm extended over the North Carolina Piedmont into areas east of Raleigh.

While about half a foot was reported in most of the Alleghany, Upper Mountain Research in Laurel Springs measured a total of 8, said Margaret Blevins, office assistant.

Snowfall for this January is considerably higher than what the station has recorded in the past few years, she said.

Only a couple of minor auto accidents were reported, said Trooper R.L. Lane of the N.C. Highway Patrol. "There wasn't much traffic out this weekend. Everyone listened to the weather forecast and stayed home. A lot of businesses were closed," he said.

On Tuesday, heavy cloud cover was delivering a wintry mix, but no major incidents were reported by presstime.

The clouds, however, assured that any groundhogs venturing into the snow and ice on Groundhog Day would not see their shadow.

And more is predicted for the weekend, as of presstime. Weather forecasters were calling for a wintry mix on Friday and snow on Saturday, with significant accumulations.

January Snow Totals

At Upper Mountain Research
2007 1 inch
2008 3.3 inches
2009 1.3 inches
2010 9.3 inches

Total Snow
2007 4.3 inches
2008 5.0 inches
2009 25.5 inches