Chamber News

Tree Fall Puts Out Power in Patrick Springs-237 Customers Loose Power

Dec.28-Tree or a tree branch inside a right of way fell and took down a power line on Anthony Drive in Patrick Springs about 6:30 a.m. Monday. Warmer weather coming to the area.

Source: Martinsville Bulletin Warmer weather in store for area Tuesday, December 28, 2010 By PAUL COLLINS - Bulletin Staff Writer The new year may mark a return to more seasonable temperatures after a Christmas weekend storm brought snow and high winds to the area. Temperatures are expected to rise each day through New Year’s Day on Saturday, and much of the 4 to 5 inches of snow that fell Saturday should have melted by then, a meteorologist said Monday. High temperatures should be in the upper 30s to 40 today in Henry County and Martinsville and in the low to mid-30s in Patrick County, said Jim Hudgins, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Blacksburg. “It will still be pretty gusty (today),� but the wind will not be as strong as it was on Monday, he said. The wind gusts are expected to be 10 to 20 mph today, compared with Monday’s gusts of more than 40 mph at times in Henry County and Martinsville and more than 50 mph at times in Patrick County, Hudgins said. Temperatures are expected to rise 3 to 5 degrees each day for the next few days, reaching a high of 40 to 45 on Wednesday, perhaps the upper 40s on Thursday and the mid- to upper 50s on Saturday, he said. There could be light rain on Thursday and rain showers on Saturday, he said. By Sunday, the high may be in the low 50s, he said. Lisa Hughes, resident engineer for the Virginia Department of Transportation, said Monday afternoon that there had been a lot of drifting “on the mountain� in Patrick County, especially at Meadows of Dan and Vesta. In some places snow drifts were several feet high on secondary roads, she said. “Below the mountain,� there were isolated snow drifts of up to a foot or so on primary and secondary roads in Patrick and Henry counties, with a little more drifting in the Figsboro and Axton areas of Henry County, she said. She said the drifting would have been worse had the road crews “not been on top of it ... .� “The big thing is the wind. The roads looked good until the wind picked up,� she said. “If the wind would stop and the sun come out and warm the pavement up, we should be in good shape,� she said. She urged motorists to use caution and to watch for refreezing and snow blown across roads. Despite the winds, few power failures were reported in the area. John Shepelwich, a spokesman for Appalachian Power Co., said a tree or a tree branch inside a right of way fell and took down a power line on Anthony Drive in Patrick Springs about 6:30 a.m. Monday. That cut electrical service for 237 customers in the area. The cable was replaced, and power was restored at noon Monday, he said. A small power failure at 9:45 a.m. Monday on Blackberry Road in west Bassett affected four customers, Shepelwich said. The failure resulted from a pole fire, which usually is caused by equipment failure, but the cause had not been determined, he said. He expected power to be restored by 5 p.m. Monday. Dennis Bowles, the city’s superintendent of electrical operations, said there was a power failure affecting about 10 residential customers on Yorkshire Road in Martinsville’s Westside around 7 a.m. Monday and lasted about two hours. Workers found a blown fuse but its cause was unknown, Bowles said. Reference: www.martinsvillebulletin.com