NEW HANOVER COUNTY — New Hanover County Emergency Management Operations activation will conclude on Tuesday after being partially enacted for three days, due to Winter Storm Gianna. Being dubbed an “historic” storm, it brought 6 or more inches to areas of New Hanover County, while more than a foot of snow fell in some areas of Pender and Brunswick counties.
READ MORE: Winter weather closures, cancellations for Tuesday, Feb. 3
According to Emergency Management Director Steven Still, the sunshine from Sunday and Monday and 40-degree temperatures have helped melt the precipitation, prompting the county to reopen most facilities at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, Feb. 3. However, parks and the New Hanover and Pender counties’ courts will remain closed.
“While conditions have improved, residents should use caution when traveling, particularly during the early morning hours when we have that refreezing that occurs like we experienced very early this morning,” Still said.
The National Weather Service of Wilmington issued an alert on Monday around 2 p.m. reminding people in Pender, New Hanover, and Brunswick counties that temperatures will drop into the teens overnight. This brings the potential for black ice to form.
“Icy spots could form on paved surfaces, such as bridges and overpasses, primary and secondary roads, parking lots, sidewalks and driveways. Hazardous travel conditions will linger through Tuesday morning before we significant improvements heading into mid-week,” the NWS released.
Still expects by the time county operations resume at 10 a.m., travel will be safer.
He praised North Carolina Department of Transportation, as well as City of Wilmington for their efficiency in clearing roadways during the storm. NCDOT maintains major corridors like U.S. Highway 17, U.S. Highway 74/76, and Interstates 40 and 140 and focused on clearing them first. The city takes care of secondary roadways in the county and has focused on pathways to emergency personnel services, like the hospital, police and fire departments, etc.
Upon being asked if “trouble spots,” including bridges, are expected to be closed on roadways overnight, Still said no — but they “can’t predict the future.” MLK Parkway — which includes smaller bridges over Smith Creek and leads to the Isabel Holmes Bridge — closed from Third Street to Kerr Avenue during the storm. By noon Monday, it reopened, according to the Wilmington Police Department.
Still thanked the city partners, like WPD, for keeping the public up to date hour-by-hour.
“As conditions improve and the city and DOT attack more roads, I do not see further closures,” he said, though added shaded roads that didn’t receive a brine — such as in neighborhoods — likely will take longer to clear.
Still also revealed only a handful of vehicle accidents took place throughout the weekend. Compared to last January’s 3 inches that fell regionwide, he considered it a win: “I think our messaging to the public to stay off the roads really, really worked.”
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