Year in Review: Winter Blast of 2009

Counting down the top stories of 2009

By Richelle Bailey
Published: December 29, 2009

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McDowell's second most newsworthy story of the year occurred just a couple of weeks ago.

A snow storm – which has been termed the Blizzard of '09 or the Winter Blast of '09 – dumped 12 to 16 inches of snow on the county.

McDowell has dodged major winter weather systems since the ice storm of 2003. But the one that slammed into the county on Friday, Dec. 18 made up for those missed years.

Snow began falling around 7 a.m. that day and was still coming down late into the night.

The accumulation eventually shut down westbound Interstate 40 from Old Fort Mountain to Parker Padgett Road. Hundreds of motorists were stranded and had to be taken to shelters at Old Fort's First Baptist and Wesleyan churches. Officials said 275 to 280 bedded down at the two shelters that night.

A dozen more stayed at a shelter set up at East McDowell Junior High School. Of those, 11 of them were stranded motorists and one was an elderly man who lost his power.

The fallen snow caused tractor-trailers to jackknife and wreck, blocking Coxes Creek Mountain and U.S. 70 West at Mackey's Creek.

There were dozens of other stranded motorists, collisions and downed trees. Thousands were without power, some for the entire weekend.

Four crews from the National Guard (a total of eight people) with four Humvees helped local emergency officials patrol the roads in search of stranded vehicles; respond to emergency calls; and pull automobiles and tractor-trailers out of ditches, off the interstate and out of snow-covered parking lots.

Nearly 60 workers from the DOT's more eastern areas, as well as 10 employees from the N.C. Forest Service and six contract crews, provided assistance in McDowell, Buncombe, Burke and Yancey counties. They needed all the manpower they could get to clear the roads and cut fallen trees.

But it wasn't all work and turmoil. Students got an early start on their Christmas break. That Friday was supposed to be the last day of school for two weeks, but classes were cancelled. Many youngsters wasted no time digging out the sleds, gathering accessories to decorate their snowmen or planning their snowball attacks.

And, even though it was a stale snow by then, it was still around to make for a white Christmas.

As of today, patches of snow remain in those places that don't see much sunlight and heaps are still piled up on the roadsides or in the middle of the streets.

Weather experts have said, since the drought is over, we could see more precipitation this winter.

Forecasters are expecting another system to move in tonight through New Year's Day, bringing a possible mixture of sleet, freezing rain and snow.

Could it be that Mother Nature and Old Man Winter are ushering in 2010 in their own style?