BLOWING ROCK, N.C. — Conditions have been improving in the North Carolina mountains on Monday, with temperatures rising into the upper 30′s.
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Channel 9′s Dave Faherty reports there were several wrecks across the mountains Monday, including one along Highway 321 outside of Blowing Rock where a truck slid off the road, down a hillside, and then crashed into a fence. Fortunately, the driver and his passenger were not hurt in the wreck.
Road crews said sleet, along with prolonged freezing rain overnight in the high country, made traveling treacherous.
Channel 9 spotted crews with the North Carolina Department of Transportation about 10 miles north of Lenoir around 6 a.m., running tandem trucks down the hillside, putting salt primarily on Highway 321.
By mid-morning, temperatures had risen above freezing, causing much of the ice to melt.
Channel 9′s Dave Faherty went to Appalachian State University’s campus Monday where he spoke with student athletes about the cold weather arriving this week. They were training on a hillside after making sure there was no ice.
“We’re in preseason right now and a lot of the gyms are closed, and I was like, ‘let’s go and do hill sprints outside,’” ASU tennis player Savannah Dadada-Mascoll said.
“I’m not a big fan of the cold, so it’s gonna be a tough semester for me but it’s part of going to App State you know,” ASU soccer player Ava Kiss said.
We also checked with Blue Ridge Energy and they only reported a handful of outages from the ice.
(WATCH BELOW: NCDOT treats roads as snow falls in mountains)
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