The wintry weather ended Sunday night, but some roads are still covered in ice. Schools will be closed Tuesday in Lincoln, Catawba, Gaston & Cleveland counties. So far, the only announcement we have on city or county offices is from Maiden, where town offices will open on a two-hour delay Tuesday. Gaston College will also not have classes Tuesday. All on-campus classes and events at Catawba Valley Community College are also canceled for Tuesday. Lincoln Charter School (both campuses) will be closed for staff and students on Tuesday. All sports and activities are canceled for Tuesday.
The snow came, then the sleet, and in some areas freezing rain. How much snow you got depended on your location: in some locations it was much more than in others. There were locations in nortwestern Lincoln, upper Cleveland and Catawba County that got over 10 inches total. In Lincolnton, some reported four inches, but others claimed 8. There were photos showing rulers in Lincoln and Gaston that had eight inches showing.
No matter where in our area you live, you got some frozen precipitation. The good news is that the heavy icing that was feared turned out to be less than expected. There were (and still are) some power outages, but they weren't as severe as they could have been.
Roads will still be hazardous in many places. There will be some slippery secondary roads, so drive carefully.
MLK Day activities that had planned for downtown Lincolnton were canceled. Schools began making their announcements early Monday afternoon. Gaston County was first to notify us: "
Because of dangerous road conditions across the county, all schools will be closed on Tuesday, January 18 for students and 10-month and 11-month employees. Twelve-month employees have the option of coming to work or working remotely on Tuesday. If 12-month employees choose to come to work, they should do so on a two-hour delay and only if they can travel to work safely." Cleveland County was next to announce no school for Tuesday; then Lincoln County and then Catawba County. Newton-Conover City Schools announced they would observe an optional teacher workday.
Government offices (federal, state, county, city) were closed Monday for the MLK holiday. Catawba County’s Blackburn Sanitary Landfill and Blackburn Convenience Center was closed Monday because of the weather. Both facilities are anticipated to re-open Tuesday, January 18th. Lincoln County's solid waste convenience sites were closed Sunday because of the weather, but they should now be reopened.
Photos of the snow were supplied by Bill Ward of Bill Ward Photography in Stanley who provided photos of Stanley and Mt. Holly and by Remy Phelps who shot photos in the Lincolnton area.
It's questionable whether schools, which had been scheduled to return to their normal schedule Tuesday, will be able to do that. They may have to delay the start or cancel altogether. We'll update our info as soon as we get info from the schools.
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