Icy Weather Spares Most Of Central N.C.

There were few power outages reported from icy tree limbs affecting power lines. Roads were icy in some areas, but there were few reports of wrecks.

There were only 10 power outages reported by Duke Power from Saturday's storm. Progress Energy reported no outages attributed to icy weather in the Triangle area.

Dozens of accidents have been reported around the state, but none involving major injuries. Power crews were working Sunday to restore service to some 10,000 customers, mostly in Cabarrus and Alamance counties. Up to seven inches of snow fell in Avery and Mitchell counties in the mountains. Much of the Piedmont got one to two inches of sleet and snow. Amtrak canceled rail service for Sunday morning from Raleigh to Charlotte.

Areas from Charlotte north to Davie County reported the first signs of the winter storm just after sunrise on Saturday, said the National Weather Service in Greer, S.C.

Freezing rain and snow pushed into the Triad by Saturday midmorning.

The state Highway Patrol in Catawba County reported numerous accidents on slick roads throughout the 10-county region it patrols on Saturday, though no serious injuries were reported.

Freezing rain was falling at noon in mountain counties including Buncombe and Cherokee, where authorities urged drivers to use caution on the slippery roads. No major accidents were reported.

The weather threat Saturday was significant enough that the state Democratic Party canceled a Saturday meeting in Raleigh to elect a new chairman.

Elsewhere, some college events and basketball games were postponed or moved up because of the threat.

On Friday, North Carolina DOT officials worked with Raleigh city officials to make sure they treated roads before any snow and ice arrived in an attempt to avoid a repeat of last week's traffic chaos after an inch of snow fell.

The DOT also had more than 6,000 employees on standby and said that crews already had treated bridges, overpasses and parts of major highways west of Interstate 95.