News

White Christmas comes with black ice warning

By Bill Moss, Published: December 25, 2020

Henderson County folks woke up to a white Christmas, sort of, as a winter storm dusted the area and plunged temperatures into the mid-teens.

"There's going to be some flurries off and on this morning, a dusting, that should start tapering off this afternoon," Rodney Hinson of the National Weather Service said. The highest snow accumulations were in Madison and Avery counties, where around 6 inches was reported. Mountain Home reported a half inch of snow and the Asheville Regional Airport 1 inch.

The National Weather Service issued a black ice warning, saying that if "the road looks wet, you`re probably driving on ice."

"Sub-freezing temperatures will cause any standing water or puddles to freeze, making for patches of black ice on main
highways and secondary roadways," the weather statement said. "With yesterday`s rainfall, expect area roadways to be extra  hazardous as the initial road treatment washed away. ... Black ice can be hard to see and makes roads slippery, especially bridges and overpasses. Slow down, and leave plenty of distance between you and other vehicles."

The highs are only expected to reach the mid 20s today while lows tonight will drop to the low teens. A warmup begins on Saturday with highs around 43, followed by 49 on Sunday and 54 on Monday.