Snow falls across the Upstate, freezing rain and more snow expected
Upstate South Carolina was hit with at least 3 inches of snow in the early hours Sunday, with winds picking up to 20 mph after daybreak.
Small areas of western North Carolina and northeast South Carolina were without power early Sunday, with Duke Energy reporting it could get worse as snow turned to sleet and freezing rain. Some 14,000 Duke customers in the Upstate were without power shortly before 9 a.m., according to an online outage map.
Temperatures were in the high 20s at 8:30 a.m.
The forecast called for sleet and freezing rain turning back to snow later Sunday and tapering off during the night.
“Winter is here! Stay at home folks! We don’t want to see any more vehicles on the roadway than there absolutely has to be. Enjoy the snow with family and friends at home,” Trooper Mitch Ridgeway of the South Carolina Highway patrol tweeted Sunday morning.
South Carolina Department of Transportation said trees and power lines likely would fall as the storm progresses.
“Driving conditions are quickly deteriorating as the storm intensifies,” SCDOT said on Twitter..
SCDOT said plowing began around 4 a.m. and roadways were treated with salt/sand and brine before the snow began.
