Asheville City Govt: Wintry Weather Closures and Updates

City o Asheville-- Thursday updates, Feb. 20 Asheville City government offices closed at noon today, Feb. 20, due to predicted snow. This includes City recreation centers, parks and the WNC Nature Center. City meetings and City-sponsored programs are cancelled as well.

As of now, ART bus service and City Sanitation service are on schedule. Please check back for any updates. Information will also be posted on the City’s Facebook page and Twitter feed.

All public safety services, including police, fire and emergency response, will operate as normal  – 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

Water Resources staff will be available for water-related emergencies 24 hours a day, as usual.  Customers can call the customer service line at 828-251-1122 to report water-related emergencies, leaks, breaks and no water calls.

Find Buncombe County closings here, including  early voting locations will close at noon today.

Snow preparation
The National Weather Service forecast is calling for up to 3 inches of snow accumulation today. A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect until noon Friday, Feb. 21.

Here are our latest updates:

Asheville Public Works prepped all snow removal equipment on Wednesday and staff are ready to begin salting and plowing streets once accumulation begins today.

All Streets Division trucks are equipped to double as plows and salt spreaders and ready to respond when the storm starts. The City has 4,000+ tons of salt on hand to treat roads. Salt spreaders are loaded and ready to go.

Our Streets crews will stay on the job around the clock as needed, to remove any accumulating snow, first from our priority one streets, then moving into secondary / neighborhood streets as the priority routes are cleared. Priority one roads are major routes needed for emergency response as well as streets where ART bus routes run. Streets crews will also remove snow on sidewalks in front of City-owned property. 

The City’s Snow Mapper shows which roads are priority one.

Snow response from NCDOT: The interstates in Buncombe have been treated, crews have been driving their routes, and they’re in position out in the county to start clearing as soon as it starts falling.

As with all other snow and ice events, interstates will be cleared and maintained first, followed by primary then secondary roads in Buncombe County.
 

Watch it snow, live in downtown Asheville
This is a live feed from the Buncombe County Historic Courthouse Cam.

 
Coordinated response
The City of Asheville is working in partnership with Buncombe County for a coordinated response to this snow event.

“One of my main priorities is to forge an allegiance of first responders working together,” said new Buncombe Emergency Services Director Taylor Jones. “We are following the weather very closely and are working with multiple agencies across the region to coordinate readiness efforts.”

Where to find emergency information
Visit BCReady for emergency preparedness information, such as a list of emergency supplies for a preparedness kit. Scroll down the page to find emergency numbers, such as who to contact if your power goes out.

For City of Asheville emergency alerts, register for AVL Alert at this link.

Code Purple called
The Asheville Homeless Coalition has called a Code Purple for Thursday and Friday. Please encourage those who need shelter from the frigid temps to seek it! Here is a link to resources: http://bit.ly/2WrXnde.

Avoid driving in snow
As a reminder, if you do not have to drive in snow, please stay off the roads, for your own safety and that of our first responders.

Wednesday, Feb. 19
On Wednesday, Asheville’s Public Works Department mobilized crews and equipment, preparing to treat roads for snow predicted for Thursday.

The National Weather Service forecast calls for 1 to 3 inches of snow accumulation Thursday into Thursday night. A Winter Weather Advisory goes into effect at 5 a.m. Thursday, Feb. 20.

A Public Works crew is on call starting at midnight tonight; following that, crews will report at 7 a.m., unless the snow arrives early.

All Streets Division trucks are equipped to double as plows and salt spreaders and ready to respond when the storm starts. The City has 4,000+ tons of salt on hand to treat roads. Salt spreaders are loaded and ready to go.

Our Streets crews will stay on the job around the clock as needed, to remove any accumulating snow, first from our priority one streets, then moving into secondary / neighborhood streets as the priority routes are cleared. Priority one roads are major routes needed for emergency response as well as streets where ART bus routes run. Streets crews will also remove snow on sidewalks in front of City-owned property. 

 Continue Reading and for more updates

Photo: Marjorie Farrington