Franklin weathers winter storm

Franklin County saw a fairly fast recovery after the brief winter weather system that began Jan. 16.

The storm quickly made the roads dangerous, according to Franklin County Emergency Management Agency director Jody Hitt.

He said it was a light system, but it ended up overwhelming their resources.

“The county had already pretreated the roads, but the temperatures dropped too fast,” Hitt said.

Not long after the snow and ice started moving in Tuesday morning, the EMA declared Franklin County roads impassable because of their deteriorating condition. The temperature dropped rapidly throughout the day, causing ice to form and the steadily-falling snow to accumulate.

Wednesday, the sun came out and started to melt the snow and ice, but most of it refroze since the temperature didn’t rise above freezing until Thursday.

“The highway department worked nonstop since all of it started,” Hitt said.

At 11 a.m. Jan. 19, the EMA declared the roads passable, but Hitt said some areas were still slick and patchy with ice.

Both Hitt and Russellville Fire Department Chief Joe Mansell said compared to previous winter storms, there were fewer reported emergencies and calls that were weather-related.

“People used their common sense. I know the numbers went down, and 911 didn’t run as many wrecker services as in the past,” Hitt said.

Mansell said the RFD responded to one car fire, three false fire alarms and one structure fire, as well as three weather-related wrecks and several EMS calls.

“We anticipated much worse, and we were prepared for worse,” Mansell said.

Hitt said places in Russellville and Red Bay received about half an inch of snow, and places in the county at a higher elevation received closer to an inch.

Russellville City Schools closed because of the weather conditions Tuesday through Thursday and opened two hours late Friday. Franklin County Schools remained closed Tuesday through Friday.