by Leah Justice

leah.justice@tryondailybulletin.com

The Town of Tryon is reporting final runs of computer models have Polk County as the area with the highest potential for damaging ice accumulations.

Temperatures have remained below freezing on Monday, Feb. 16 with the entire mountain and foothills region under a winter storm warning until Tuesday, Feb. 17 at 7 a.m.

Polk County Schools dismissed Monday at 12:30 p.m. District One Schools were out Monday in observance of President’s Day.

Tryon Fire Chief and town manager Joey Davis issued a statement Monday saying since temperatures were still below freezing whatever falls will accumulate quickly. He said most forecasts call for the precipitation to begin between noon and 2 p.m. Some areas of Polk County began seeing snow just after 1:30 p.m., such as Sunny View and Green Creek. As of 2 p.m., the Tryon/Columbus also began seeing snowfall. Forecasts were calling for anywhere between one to four inches of snow in Polk County and up to three inches of snow in Landrum. Ice accumulations also varied to a quarter of an inch or more.

Davis said anything from a quarter of an inch of ice and above typically means downed trees and power lines.

“If that forecast plays out many of us will be without power for a bit,” Davis said. “Duke Energy already has crews on standby-so it will simply be an issue of how quick they can addressed downed lines.”Davis also said residents should understand the forecast is still a winter storm warning, which has not changed to an ice storm as of Monday morning, so there is still a possibility this could be more of a snow event rather than ice.

The N.C. Department of Transportation pretreated I-26 on Sunday, Feb. 15.Davis said as for the Town of Tryon, the police department is prepared to go to 24-hour dispatching if needed. The town has communication’s Blake Arledge on duty today and plans to have Arledge stay Monday night if the road conditions are bad.Tryon’s public works department is ready to respond to downed trees to assist Tryon Fire Department, plow roads and spread sand as necessary, according to Davis. Davis said it should be understood if the weather turns into an ice event the town is limited in what it can do.The Tryon Fire Department chained up fire trucks and Kim Pack has cooked food in order to feed town crews.

The front office at Tryon Town Hall will dismiss when the weather begins and the town will decide Tuesday morning whether or not to open.

Tryon Town Council has postponed its regular meeting scheduled for Tuesday night until Thursday morning at 10 a.m. The Polk County Board of Commissioners also postponed its regular meeting scheduled for Monday night until next Monday, Feb. 23 at 7 p.m. Commissioners have a special meeting at 5:30 p.m. on Feb. 23 to discuss requests for proposals for a jail study.