Snow is gone, and so are traffic troubles

Robert C. Reed | Hickory Daily Record

Snow melts in the sun Tuesday on the First United Methodist Church steeple in Hickory.

By Richard Gould | Hickory Daily Record

Published: March 4, 2009

HICKORY - Much of the ice and slush left over from Sunday's snowfall melted away across Catawba County on Tuesday.

Temperatures hovered in the upper 30s, with a high of 37 degrees. The low was 18 degrees — just five degrees warmer than the record low of 13 set in 1980.

Chief Deputy Coy Reid of the Catawba County Sheriff's Office said Catawba County's schools were closed Tuesday due to concerns that some of the roadways in the outlying areas of the county — notably the Vale area, Sherrills Ford and along the Burke County line — would not be cleared.

Highway Patrol Sgt. J.T. Williams said there might have been isolated patches of ice, but the majority of those areas were clear of ice and snow.

Although there were several weather-related accidents on Sunday, Catawba County road conditions got back to normal Monday and Tuesday, Williams said.

"As for the state-maintained roads, we're in pretty good shape," Williams said. "We don't see many problems out there."

Hickory Police Capt. Thurman Whisnant said the HPD responded to seven accidents between midnight on Sunday and noon Monday, but by Tuesday, virtually all of Hickory's roads were clear.