Cove rings in New Year with ice, snow
By LYNETTE SOWELL
Cove Leader-Press
The Copperas Cove area saw rare snow flurries both on New Year’s Eve and on Tuesday, giving locals a snow day before CCISD resumed classes on Wednesday.
There was no significant accumulation, but that didn’t stop locals from enjoying the snow. Some Copperas Cove residents made snowmen, some made snow angels, and others simply marveled at the snow flurries that blanketed the area.
Sabrina Fernandez said her sons, Dylan (9), and Gage (12), were among those who were so excited they wasted no time in making a snowman on Tuesday.
“Dylan woke up this morning and screamed, ‘It’s a dream come true!’ He’s been asking for snow for years!! It was a very special moment today, to be able to see him enjoy the snow,” said Fernandez.
While children of all ages enjoyed the snow flurries on New Year’s Eve and on Tuesday, some individuals didn’t fare so well, with a number of accidents reported by the Copperas Cove Police Department during the evening hours of December 31.
Prior to the flurries on Sunday evening came the freezing rain that continued off and on until the frozen mixture turned to snow on Sunday night.
The City of Copperas Cove sent out notifications via Code Red shortly after 6 p.m. on Sunday, advising them that streets and bridges in and around Copperas Cove were icing over, there were numerous vehicle collisions, and due to roadway icing, not to drive unless it was absolutely necessary.
The Highway 190 southeast bypass was closed to traffic around 6 p.m., and State highway 9 was also closed to traffic until noon on January 1.
There were five accidents listed on the Copperas Cove daily bulletin between the hours of 4:30 p.m. and 9 p.m. on Sunday within the city of Copperas Cove, with three accidents on Highway 190, one on Veterans Avenue, and another at the intersection of F.M. 116 and State Highway 9.
At last, on Wednesday, temperatures climbed above the freezing point during the day, after the area had been in a deep freeze since Sunday.