Through a Friday winter storm warning and extended winter weather advisories that persisted into the weekend, the Cullman area endured the year’s first brush with ice and snow with a minimum of damage or danger.

With the final remnants of snow melting away across those areas of the county mostly shaded and untouched by the sun, Cullman Emergency Management Agency director Tim Sartin said on Tuesday that the county safely emerged from this winter’s first substantial snowfall, while local utilities faced little trouble in keeping their services flowing.

“Everything went well overall,” Sartin said. “We had fewer wrecks, and a lot fewer people out of power, than we could have seen. Our critical infrastructure came through okay this time around. There was a brief period when we had around 140 people who were out of power for a short time, but that was restored within about two hours.”

Cullman County Commission chairman Jeff Clemons said Tuesday that county road crews hadn’t had time to assess the extent of potential damage to area roads in the storm’s wake. But, he added, cursory surveys indicate that most county-maintained roadways look none the worse for wear — an outcome he attributed to ample preparation before the first snowflakes began falling early Friday.

“We really haven’t had a chance yet to inspect all of our roads, but it doesn’t appear that we’ll be looking at any major issues,” he said. “I’ve got to give praise to our road department. Friday morning, they were out right at daylight, and had graders and trucks clearing away the snow as it was accumulating. We were able to get a lot of snow off the roads before people even started traveling that morning, and I think that ended up helping tremendously.”

A mix of early snow, followed later on Friday by an additional mixture of sleet and freezing rain, dropped at least two inches of winter precipitation across most of Cullman County, with many rural locations seeing higher overall snowfall totals. Though refreezing and the nighttime appearance of black ice remained a concern for area motorists throughout the weekend and into Monday morning, a mild warming trend — coupled with drier weather — suggests that any lingering moisture on the ground should pose no further travel hazards this week.

Forecasters already are eyeing the approach of extremely cold weather next week, though Sartin advised that it’s yet too early to anticipate whether another round of snow or ice might also accompany the next cooldown.

The Climate Prediction Center of the National Weather Service advised on Tuesday that a “high risk” exists for “much below normal temperatures” beginning Tuesday, Jan. 21, with “a high chance of [evening temperatures] falling to 17-20 degrees Fahrenheit or lower during this period, bringing an increased risk of cold-related illnesses.”

“Right now it looks like even the high temperatures are only going to be in the 30s next week,” Clemons said. “EMA has been doing a great job keeping us advised on what to look out for ahead of time, so we’ll be prepared if we do end up getting any more [winter precipitation]. We’re grateful at how we came through everything this weekend, and we’ll be staying on top of the weather next week.”

Benjamin Bullard can be reached by phone at 256-734-2131 ext. 234.