The bigger picture: How North Carolina fared during the winter storm

By Alan Wooten | The Center Square

(The Center Square) – Between 6 and 12 inches of snow and sleet were reported over the weekend near North Carolina’s border to Virginia and Tennessee and also in Buncombe County.

A major winter storm gripping the nation from New Mexico to New England led to at least a dozen states getting federal emergency declarations from second-term Republican President Donald Trump. North Carolina is among them.

The emergency declaration unlocks federal taxpayer dollars for things like deployment of additional generators to hospitals and shelters; emergency food, water and fuel; and support from the U.S. Forest Service to remove downed trees as needed.

Air and ground travel were impacted, with cancellations of more than 1,100 flights at Charlotte Douglas International and 350 at Raleigh-Durham International. 

Greensboro in the Piedmont collected roughly 3 inches of snow.

Power outage peak on Sunday in North Carolina was during the evening at between 30,000 and 42,000. More than 20,000 were in the mountains. Crews rolled in from throughout the southeastern United States to assist restoration.

Roads were pretreated with nearly 4 million gallons of brine by the state Department of Transportation before the storm. Sunday evening, the road closures report only included Interstate 85 near Charlotte. First-term Democratic Gov. Josh Stein advised only essential travel throughout the state.

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Stein declared an emergency on Wednesday ahead of the storm. The impacts will continue this week.

"We will see additional freezing rain and impacts, like power outages, so please do not let your guard down,” said Will Ray, director of Emergency Management, noting the forecast for the week that remains bitterly cold.

Public and private schools, both K-12 and higher education, closed Monday across the state or operated on delays. Notable among them were closures at N.C. State and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the latter inclusive of Tuesday.

The state price gouging law is also in effect, said first-term Democratic Attorney General Jeff Jackson.

Taxpayers’ protection by the price gouging law includes no excessive charges during a crisis, such as inflated costs for a generator or other everyday goods and services. Prices can be adjusted for impact of critical events on their operations, but not to boost profits.

Taxpayers through General Assembly appropriations supply about $60 million annually for winter storms to be handled by the state Department of Transportation. The cost of brine treatments on roads is about $6 per mile; salt is $15 per mile.

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Alan Wooten has been a publisher, general manager and editor. His work has won national or state awards in every decade since the 1980s. He’s a proud graduate of Elon University and Farmville Central High in North Carolina.

The Shelby Independent