Sampson County “fared great” through this weekend’s winter storm, County Manager Allen Vann reported Monday; however, the county may not be as lucky with a winter storm forecasted for the second weekend in a row.
Though there were icy roads on Sunday and sleet Sunday night, the area saw no power outages, no reported damage to homes or other buildings, and no major accidents. Schools were closed on Monday, with a two-hour delay on Tuesday, due to icy road conditions in some areas of the county.
The National Weather Service is now reporting that snow is likely this Saturday, with a chance of precipitation at 60 percent as of press time. The high Saturday is just 27 degrees, with a Sunday high forecast at 31 — both below freezing. Lows will be in the teens, leaving the potential that any accumulated snow may not melt.
“Sampson County Emergency Services is actively monitoring weather conditions for another potential winter storm that could impact our area this coming weekend,” Emergency Services Director Rick Sauer said, adding that meteorologists will likely have a better idea of the likelihood of the winter storm affecting the county by Thursday or Friday.
With this past weekend’s storm, county officials opted not to open an emergency shelter, due to heating and capacity concerns.
“There were several considerations that went into that decision,” Vann explained. “We said in the press release that we would continue to monitor the situation and would open a shelter if needed. However, in a situation like this, you never know what area of the county will see the most impact. The bottom line is, from the perspective of a shelter, you wouldn’t want to open it on Saturday when a lot of people are not going to want to leave home unless their heat is out. The roads would be their worst at that time. We don’t want people to be somewhere else and have no heat there either.”
He reiterated that as Friday’s statement from Public Information Officer Jean Ko said, the viable shelters were Hobbton High School and the Adult Day Care Center on Fisher Avenue, which have a total capacity of 396.
“It’s just a matter of trying to work as prudently as we can with the resources we have,” Vann contended, explaining that he and other county leaders did not want to utilize the resources on hand unless it was absolutely necessary.
“We would never just not open shelters,” he said. “We felt this was the best action with the resources we had.”
The county is limited as to the number of shelters available that would have heat if the power goes out. Vann further stated that officials are working to better prepare in case another storm strikes. “We are planning now for years to come,” he said.
Lance Eason, Sampson County maintenance engineer for the NC Department of Transportation, said crews were at work throughout the weekend, treating roadways as needed, and are “gearing up for the chance of another storm this weekend.”
Stay tuned to The Sampson Independent’s Facebook page and website, clintonnc.com, for the latest updates during and after the storm, if one should affect the area. Also, be sure to read Saturday’s print edition, which will have the most up-to-date information on the impending winter weather.