Johnson County avoids winter storm worst

There was snow, there was ice, there was rain, but all things considered, Mountain City and Johnson County didn't get the worst of the much-hyped winter storm. The winter storm was the subject of a week of preparation. Some forecasts called for Johnson County to get up to two feet of snow, which would have set records. According to the National Weather Service in Morristown, the single-day snow record for Mountain City was 20 inches during the infamous Blizzard of March 1993. A think, wet blanket of snow fell late Saturday, followed by an overnight freeze. One pickup truck overturned on Highway 67 on the outer edges of town near sunset. On Sunday morning, temperatures warmed into the high 30s/low 40s, melting much of the snow and ice, allowing some people. The buildup of ice was a major concern ahead of time, as it could cause power lines to snap. And as Johnson County Roads Superintendent Jeff Wagner said Friday, you can't drive on ice. Scrapers and salt trucks were out Saturday night, keeping the main roads clear as the wet snow turned to ice. Snow returned Monday as the temperatures plunged, promising a slick and white night before the sun was expected to return on Tuesday, after this newspaper's deadline. While Johnson County's main roads were generally OK, secondary roads remained covered with snow and ice. Most of the significant snowfall happened further north in Virginia, West Virginia and beyond. Local snow totals will end up a few inches, with the mountain peaks of the county a little bit more. Mountain City had one widespread power outage late Saturday that lasted less than an hour. Other parts of the county had more, but there were no longstanding issues as of press time. Looking in each direction away from Johnson County, it seems our neighbors got it worse. Up north, Washington County, Virginia, suffered major icing and thousands of power outages over the weekend. Further west into Tennessee, ice and snow caused havoc on highways from Johnson City to Memphis. Ice and snow also hit areas of North Carolina very hard. Whether it was due to Johnson County being perfectly in between everything or due to its unique mountain topography, the result will have many people questioning their meteorologist of choice when they predict future weather events.