People across Triangle cope with early winter snowstorm

"The cold fingers, the cold toes," said snow removal contractor Jeff Harris, whose crew worked for hours Sunday to clear several inches of snow out of a Durham Krispy Kreme parking lot.

But compared to a December snowfall last year, Harris said the rain after Sunday's snow helped.

"Last year, it was colder, it wasn't raining, the snow was thicker a little bit," he said. "It was harder get here and harder to get it cleaned up once we got here."

The storm dumped up to a foot of snow across the Triangle, but driving conditions on major roads improved during the day as rain washed away much of the snow. By afternoon and early evening, what snowplows hadn't pushed to the side was melting.

Still, many school districts and universities called off classes for Monday.

"I'm from Florida, so I definitely don't deal with snow usually," Duke University senior Andrew Bates said. "Luckily, we have power and heat, so we've been more than fine."

Bates said he welcomes the extra day to study for finals.

"It's very interesting. It's like a totally different ballgame," he said. "The ice is, by far, the worst part, but it's always fun."

In Chapel Hill, Danvers Fleury felt the effects of the weather in a very unexpected way: A big tree crashed down through his roof, and another tree toppled against power lines that run along Markham Drive.

"It felt a little bit like and earthquake, and it sounded like thunder," Fleury said.

He said he thought something like this might have happened during another storm.

"When the hurricane came through, we thought for sure a bunch of these trees would come down, but we were fine, and there were river rapids coming through," he said. "The fact that it was a little snow that did us in is surprising."

Fleury said his family escaped unharmed, and he was thankful for people who helped them during a very difficult day.

Snow plows left their mark in Franklin County, where dirty snow chunks littered the curbs.

"I rent an apartment right here, and this is my parking, and the plow man came through and pretty much backed me in," said Jimmy Beach, who was trying to dig out in Franklinton.

"They're doing their job, keeping the roads safe," Beach said, not faulting the plow drivers for his predicament.

Although many businesses were closed Sunday a Sheetz in Louisburg provided respite for some Louisburg College students needing a break from the storm.

"This is the first time we came out today," said Skyler Roberts, who walked with a friend 15 minutes to the Sheetz for some hot chocolate. "I don't like to stay in for too long."