Cumberland County Schools closed its campuses for Monday—opting instead to have students complete coursework remotely—as the impact of Winter Storm Fern fell flat over the weekend in Fayetteville.
A smattering of closings—including local government facilities and reduced operations at Fort Bragg—took place ahead of the winter storm’s arrival. But predictions of severe weather failed to materialize after some freezing rain, sleet, and a light dusting of snow arrived overnight Saturday.
The National Weather Service is forecasting rain and possible ice overnight Sunday before bitterly cold temperatures arrive on Monday night.
The school district announced the closings of campuses and district offices midday on Sunday. After-school activities scheduled for Monday were also canceled.
“During the asynchronous remote learning day, students will complete grade-level assignments prepared by their teachers,” according to the school system announcement. “There will be no live video sessions or required login times, and students are expected to work independently at their own pace.”
Elementary and middle school students have five days to complete and submit assignments, while high school students have three days. Without the completed work, students will be counted as absent for Monday, according to the school district.
Cumberland County Winter Weather Closings
While Fern turned deadly in other states and battered parts of North Carolina with ice and snow—including Charlotte and Raleigh—its impact in Cumberland County was minimal. The Fayetteville Public Works Commission’s electric outage map showed no service outages across the county at 3 p.m. on Sunday. First responders, along with local and county government agencies, reported no storm-related emergencies.
On Wednesday, Gov. Josh Stein declared a state of emergency. Cumberland County and Fayetteville followed with their own declarations.
Local, county, and state public works crews treated roads ahead of the storm’s arrival. Some 65 workers and 30 trucks from the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) turned to 12-hour shifts on Saturday to prepare for any storm-related emergencies. By Thursday, state crews dumped 113,000 gallons of brine—which helps keep ice and snow from bonding to pavement—on major routes across Cumberland County, including I-95 and I-295, according to NCDOT spokesperson Andrew Barksdale.
On Saturday, the county closed an emergency shelter at Westover Recreation Center, instead directing people to shelter partner facilities at Cornerstone Christian Empowerment Center and The Salvation Army of the Sandhills.
County facilities, including courts, will be closed on Monday. Fayetteville City Hall will open at 11 a.m. on Monday, and Monday solid waste services will be pushed to Wednesday. Spring Lake closed its offices on Monday and canceled a commissioners meeting on Monday.
A public hearing set for Monday at Fayetteville City Hall about a proposal to allow residents to turn multi-use lanes in front of their homes into no-parking zones was also canceled. The hearing was rescheduled for February 23. The city council also canceled its meeting on Monday, moving it to February 2.