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Extreme winter weather took most of central and south Alabama by storm Tuesday, with areas of Butler and Crenshaw County accumulating 4-5 inches of snow. Lowndes County was spared the storm’s worst impact, however, with southern portions of the county getting around two inches on the ground.

Lowndes County’s E-9-1-1 office reported responding to a couple of accidents on U.S. Interstate Highway 65 on Jan. 21. On Wednesday, the office received notice of a possible road closure on Lowndes County Road 37 near Black Pond Hill.

“It’s a possible road closure,” dispatchers said. “We had a call about the road being iced over and the road crew was notified about that.”

Lowndes County Engineer David Butts, who is also serving as interim emergency management agency (EMA) director issued an email Tuesday evening, alerting residents that all county roads were considered impassable and would remain closed from 8 p.m. through 10 a.m. on Wednesday. By Wednesday morning, sunshine had begun melting the snow and Butts said he would not renew the advisory.

“We’re okay,” Butts said Wednesday. “I’ve gotten 9-1-1 calls about County Road 37 going into Fort Deposit. It [had] some ice on it, but it [was] melting.”

Later Wednesday afternoon, County Road 37 and County Road 45 were closed due to ice accumulation.

Butts said he remained in contact with the National Weather Service, Lowndes County Public Schools and Lowndes County Commissioners throughout the event. The EMA office does not have an outlet, on social media or a website, to alert citizens with severe weather conditions, and Butts said the office has always urged citizens to remain alert and follow updates through local media outlets.

“The county commissioners have not asked the [EMA office] to [publish updates],” Butts said. “Even when I was the EMA director [before], we didn’t have a Facebook page to reach out to individual county residents. We’ve always relied on them paying attention to the local news because a lot of information is just repeating what has been on the news.”

According to Butts, areas around Fort Deposit and Sandy Ridge had the most snow accumulation. Fort Deposit Volunteer Fire Department Battalion Commander Brandyn Sousa said volunteers were not called to any weather-related emergencies.

“So far, so good,” Sousa said. “We have not been called out to anything yet (was of Wednesday morning.)”

Sousa said the department was ready to respond and had equipped a side-by-side ATV with emergency equipment and supplies, with personnel standing by to respond within Fort Deposit  town limits if needed.

“We had just enough [snow] here to cover a car and a little more in low areas where it was already cooler, but that was all,” Butts said. “We just didn’t have a lot. [The worst weather] was supposed to cut off somewhere around U.S. Highway 80, going south. The low end of the county had the best chance of getting a good amount of snow.