By MIKE KRAFCIK
6 News Reporter
JACKSBORO (WATE) - Campbell County residents say they haven't seen much snow before the new year. On Monday night and Tuesday morning, residents dealt with close to an inch of snow that blanketed the county.
Residents say the winter weather caught many off guard.
"Last night about 5:00 we just look outside and see it was peppering snow. We didn't realize it was supposed to be doing anything," said Jacksboro resident Jessica Lowe.
The combination of snow and ice caused for problems for many drivers. Lowe says her boyfriend was stranded on Interstate 75 Monday night on his way back to Ohio.
"Four hours later he passes Jellico. It took him almost 3.5-4 hours to get from my house to get past Jellico, which is not very far at all," she said.
Many back roads still remained icy and slick on Tuesday afternoon.
"That's one thing that we battle here with all our mountains, the changing weather and the dangerous roads and things that come along with that," said Campbell County Sheriff's Capt. Brandon Elkins.
Road crews say they were kept up all night trying to clear areas for drivers.
"We had a lot of ice. Some of the roads started to melt just before the sun set and caused some icing problems," said roads Superintendent Dennis Potter.
Road crews laid down gravel to help with many of the back roads, which they say are hard to travel when temperatures dip below freezing.
School closures were not an issue Tuesday in Campbell County. Students are still on winter break through Wednesday.
The combination of snow and ice caused for problems for many drivers.
