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Skip Enzor of CantSkipThis Photography captured this view of downtown Andalusia Wednesday afternoon. (PHOTO COURTESY OF CANTSKIPTHIS)

Bella and Milo Sedgwick were still working on their snowman Wednesday afternoon. (PHOTO BY ROBERT BLANKENSHIP)

Samantha Carroll and her daughter, Maddie Carroll, left, braved the cold temperatures this week and went sledding with Brandi Ingram and her son, JB Ingram. (PHOTO PROVIDED)

City Hall was adorned with snow this week. (PHOTO PROVIDED)

Emma Blankenship and her dog, Delilah, with one of the three members of her snowman family. (PHOTO BY ROBERT BLANKENSHIP)

Bobby and Tisha Richardson’s snowman enjoys a healthy lifestyle with products from Empower Nutrition in Andalusia. (PHOTO PROVIDED)

Lisa Hammett and her grandchildren spent quality time making a snowman together. Pictured are, from left, Lisa, Miles, Maggie, Masen, and Carter Hammett. (PHOTO PROVIDED)

Employees with the Opp Street Department prepare to clean snow and ice off the city’s streets. (PHOTO PROVIDED)

City of Andalusia employees use a front loader to scrape ice from the surface of College Street, just off the downtown square. (CITY OF ANDALUSIA PHOTO)

Henry, 1, and Charlie, 3, along with their parents Rebecca and Ross Vollmar had a fun day building this snowman. (PHOTO BY ROBERT BLANKENSHIP)

The City of River Falls patrolled the intersection at Hwy. 84 and River Falls Street where conditions became icy and dangerous. (RIVER FALLS POLICE PHOTO)

Springdale Estate in downtown Andalusia turned into a winter wonderland this week. (CITY OF ANDALUSIA PHOTO)

Janet Bass of the Sugarhill Community decorated snowmen in an Auburn jersey, Buffalo Bills jersey, and an Atlanta Braves jersey. (PHOTO PROVIDED)

Zack Maio of the Star-News with his snowman. (PHOTO PROVIDED)

Snow began falling Tuesday and continued through the remainder of the day, bringing history-making snowfall to some areas across south Alabama.

Across Covington County, communities remained snowed-in as county and city roads and bridges began to close Tuesday and were deemed impassable through much of the week.

Covington County officials said on Friday that ice accumulation remains a concern and that some roads will remain impassable “at least until lunchtime on Saturday.” They urged motorists to avoid all unnecessary travel and said roads would be evaluated again Saturday morning.

“We appreciate the public’s patience and cooperation as we work through these hazardous conditions,” said County Commission Chairman Michael Smith. “Please continue to monitor official social media and local news outlets for further updates.”

According to the National Weather Service, the Babbie community in Covington County recorded the most snowfall across south Alabama with 11 inches. Andalusia received seven inches and Opp had 8.5 inches. Other local sources have total snowfall coming in higher, including up to 9.5 in Andalusia and Pleasant Home getting 11.5 inches.

Local emergency personnel stayed busy once the snow started falling, responding to wrecks and slide-offs from the icy conditions.

Andalusia Mayor Earl Johnson said the City of Andalusia was fortunate to have had minimal problems during the snow storm and its aftermath.

“We immediately adopted our storm-prep protocols,” Johnson said. “That includes stocking up on supplies, gassing up vehicles, and anticipating possible utility issues.”

By the time the snow stopped, totals measured from 7 to 9 inches across the city. City streets were closed until after noon on Thursday.

Andalusia Police Chief Paul Hudson said the biggest issue during the storm was trucks getting stuck on Hwy. 84 West on Debro Hill.

“The state highway department came to assist every time we called,” he said. “We appreciate them working with us, and our officers who worked their days off and didn’t hesitate to do so. It went very smoothly.”

After roads were reopened on Thursday, there was also a wreck on Hwy. 84 East, between the red lights in front of Walmart, where a driver hit an icy patch and collided with another vehicle. Only minor injuries were reported, he said.

City Utilities also had minimal problems. Electric Department Manager Tom Arnold said there was one outage on Tuesday night that only affected a business. That business was able to operate on generated power until electrical service could be restored. Crews remained at utility headquarters overnight in case they were needed.

“We appreciate the work all of our essential employees did to keep the city operating smoothly during this extreme weather event,” Mayor Johnson said. “I cannot say enough about their dedication.”

The Public Works Department collected as much of Monday’s and Tuesday’s garbage routes as was possible on Tuesday. Garbage collection could not resume when the roads became passable because the Coffee County landfill was closed until Monday, and crews could not empty garbage trucks in order to resume collections. In addition, garbage froze in hobos, which also would have complicated collections.

Garbage collection will resume on the regular schedule on Monday, Mayor Johnson said.

“We apologize for this inconvenience,” the mayor said.

City offices reopened at noon on Friday, including city hall, municipal court, the Andalusia Public Library, and the Adult Activity Center. Johnson Park and the Evans Barnes Golf Course remained closed.

All city offices will resume a normal schedule on Monday. The City Council meeting postponed on January 21 has been rescheduled at noon on Monday, January 27, in the third floor conference room of City Hall. The same agenda will be used.

As of Thursday, there were no reports of structure damage, power outages, or downed trees caused by the winter storm, according to Covington County EMA Director Susan Harris.

Vehicle accidents remained the main concern and kept law enforcement and other officials busy. The Covington County Sheriff’s Office responded to numerous calls to assist motorists. Both Covington County and Andalusia closed all roads and bridges beginning at about midday Tuesday.

“After this weekend, we will have a good handle on all of the calls and sort those by the type of calls. Our deputies have been working fervently since Monday,” said Sheriff Blake Turman.

River Falls Police also responded to vehicle accidents in that area, encouraging motorists to stay off the road and to slow down if doing so.

“I want to say ‘thank you’ to the state for all the hard work they have done the last few days because they have been working around the clock to get these roads opened. We are glad to see people getting back out and hope everyone will be mindful of these roads with some slick spots. Thank you to all the agencies in Red Level, Gantt, and the sheriff’s office so much. Thank you all for your support,” River Falls Police Chief Marcus Laster said.

Road crews continued working Thursday and Friday at problem areas where icy patches were creating slick services for those who had to travel. Andalusia officials announced Thursday that certain roads would begin to re-open.

While the snow kept officials busy, it was a time younger people will remember for years to come. Local schools closed Tuesday and students remained home through the week. School officials said classes should resume on normal schedules Monday, Jan. 27.

While the snowfall broke records in some places, including Mobile where its 8 inches was the most in 130 years, it did not break the statewide record, which is held by the central-Alabama city of Gadsden, which got 20 inches of snow in 1993. The only south-Alabama area in the top 10 of snowfalls was recorded in Crenshaw County, which had 15.8 inches in 1973, which ranks sixth all-time for the state. The last time Andalusia had similar snowfall was six inches in 1993.

Whatever snow is remaining by Saturday should not last long as temperatures will rise into the 50s and then into the 60s beginning Sunday.

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