HAMLET — Although much of Friday night’s snow has melted, many roads are still in rough shape, leading Richmond County Schools to cancel classes for Monday.
Students won’t have to go to school and staff can take an optional workday with a two-hour delay, Superintendent Jeff Maples confirmed Sunday evening.
Members of what Maples called the “amazing RCS transportation team” drove around the county on Sunday to assess the roads, taking photos of several roads and bridges — mostly in shadowy areas — that were still covered, at least in spots, with snow and ice.
Secondary roads in the northern end of the county, including Hoffman and Ellerbe, are among the worst.
Overnight lows dipped into the teens early Sunday morning and although the high reached the upper 40s, it wasn’t enough to melt everything.
Accorrding to the the N.C. Department of Transporation’s snow-clearing policy, secondary roads are third on the priority list, behind interstate highways and major state and U.S. routes.
Lows are expected to drop to the mid-20s in the early morning hours on Monday before reaching a high near 50 in the afternoon.
Based on reports from Richmond County residents, most areas received 3-5 inches of snow late Friday night and into Saturday morning.
The National Weather Service warns that patchy black ice will be possible Sunday night and early in the week.
Highs this week are forecast to remain below 50 degrees and overnight lows will be below freezing.
