Let it rain, let it rain, let it rain

Snow teases us again

By RANDY BURNS
Item Staff Writer
rburns@theitem.com

March 1, 2009: another snowstorm that was almost, but never was.

There were winter storm warnings and travel advisories galore, but all turned out be false alarms.

A few snowflakes fell here and there, but mostly there. And the snow that did fall didn’t stick to cars, decks or rooftops.

Camden didn’t get any more snow than Sumter and Bishopville, which was zero.

A trace of snow was recorded in northern areas of Richland and Lexington counties. It snowed fairly hard for awhile in Newberry, but very little accumulated because of the warm and wet surfaces.

Real snowfall totals was confined to a narrow band in the Upstate from Anderson to Gaffney, where 4 to 8 inches of snow fell. Areas in York and Lancaster counties near Charlotte also received 2 to 6 inches of snow.

Winds and ice brought down trees and knocked down power lines, leaving almost 30,000 Duke Energy customers in Greenville, Anderson and Pickens counties without power, according to a utility spokesman

Crews expected to return power to all customers by 5 p.m. Monday, officials said.

National Weather Service Meteorologist Leonard Vaughan said the explanation for Sumter’s lack of snow was a simple one.

“We knew there would be a band that would set up and that snow would move from southwest to northeast,” Vaughan said. “It ended up setting farther west. We thought Sumter would be on the edge of that band, and it turned out to be Columbia and Saluda. We were close. It just didn’t happen.”



Contact Staff Writer Randy Burns at rburns@theitem.com or (803) 491-4533.