LEWISBURG W.Va. (WVDN) – This past Saturday evening, light snow began to fall, and soon after came the heavier version that slowly accumulated to around 4-8 inches depending on the area.
But once the snow took an exit out of town, the sleet and freezing rain poured down to the tune of a couple of inches, with almost everyone in the county’s front and back yards resembling an ice-skating rink.
Due to the severity of the storm, not to mention the extremely cold temperatures, [it’s 8 degrees as I’m typing this], schools, churches, restaurants, and businesses of all kinds shut down in Greenbrier County–and most of the state–for at least one day and some, even two. Places like City National Bank, City Hall, Greenbrier County Health Department, Robert C. Byrd Clinic, Manic Espresso, The WV School of Osteopathic Medicine, Little Learners Daycare, and many more kept their doors locked on Monday for the safety of their employees. A couple of banks, Peoples and The Bank of Monroe, opened late or closed early. Two of those–the Health Department and RCB Clinic– also closed on Tuesday, as well.
Also closed for two days were the Greenbrier County Courthouse and the Supreme Court of Appeals of WV.
Typically, traffic in Lewisburg is the talk of the town as over the last several years, it’s resembled rush hour in New York City, but on Monday evening, it was almost like a ghost town. I actually went riding around to run a few errands and scope out the conditions, and I maybe saw 20 cars on the road. I usually see 20 cars before I walk out my front door. It makes sense, though, as the Department of Transportation/Department of Highways wrote a letter encouraging travelers to stay home and off the roads.
So, the snow and ice have definitely slowed some things down around the community.
Greenbrier County Schools were closed Monday and Tuesday and assigned all students to remote learning days, where they do a day’s worth of schoolwork at home. The following is posted on the GBC Schools website about the remote learning:
Inclement Weather Policy: Greenbrier County Schools can use five accrued instructional days for the first five inclement weather days. These five days do not have to be made up, and there is no remote learning. The school system can use remote learning for the second five inclement weather days. These allowances are due to our daily instructional time being longer than the law requires.
At the time of this writing, it is unknown if schools closed on Wednesday and Thursday as well but would not be a complete surprise if they did.
Finally, everyone may not have time to relax after this stuff passes. There are several media outlets and meteorologists who are “keeping a close eye” on another big potential snowstorm this weekend, Jan. 30-Feb.1. One report had Greenbrier County in the TWO FEET category. If that happens, everyone, please stay safe, warm, and vigilant.
As the old saying goes, “this too, shall pass.”
Some photos of the snowy and wintery conditions:
