Snow impacts western NC mountain towns recovering from Hurricane Helene: 'Coldest air of the season so far'

People surviving successful western North Carolina upland towns who are inactive recovering from the effects of Hurricane Helene are present dealing with a acold spell arsenic they woke up to snowfall connected Wednesday morning.

"The devastation astir present is heartbreaking, but the thought of radical with nary powerfulness oregon damaged homes is conscionable awful," Waynesville nonmigratory Jeanne Tierney Vavruska told Fox News Digital, adding that she is acrophobic for her neighbors.

"We had virtually been sleeping successful our shed due to the fact that of h2o damage, and it was truthful cold," she added. "This was past week erstwhile the temperatures weren't astir arsenic bad. I'm truthful grateful we lone mislaid powerfulness for a mates of weeks and had a small h2o damage."

Vavruska, originally from Florida, and her hubby from Massachusetts started their determination to the country successful September 2023. They did not settee connected their spot until March of this year, meaning this volition beryllium their "first wintertime astatine 4,100 feet."

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A array connected Jeanne Tierney Vavruska's spot successful Waynesville, North Carolina, shows the snowfall she woke up to connected Oct. 16, 2024. (Jeanne Tierney Vavruska)

Fox Carolina issued a weather-related First Alert for the "coldest aerial of the play truthful far" connected Wednesday and Thursday. The mountains were forecast to person feel-like temperatures successful the 20s, raising interest for those inactive without power.

As a result, acold upwind shelters opened successful Buncombe County, where Helene swept distant homes, chopped powerfulness and destroyed important parts of the h2o strategy for Asheville, a metropolis of astir 94,000 people. The tempest decimated distant towns and killed astatine slightest 246 radical passim the Appalachians, wherever monolithic cleanup efforts person been analyzable by washed-out bridges and roads. It was the deadliest hurricane to deed the U.S. mainland since Katrina successful 2005.  

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Animals bundled up successful the acold successful Waynesville, North Carolina, connected Oct. 16, 2024, pursuing a dusting of snow. (Jeanne Tierney Vavruska)

As for Vavruska, she hopes those visiting the area recognize determination is inactive a batch of enactment to beryllium done.

Snow crossed a upland spot successful occidental North Carolina little than 3 weeks aft Hurricane Helene ripped done the area. (Jeanne Tierney Vavruska)

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"The municipality is being enactment backmost unneurotic truthful quickly, I'm acrophobic radical volition hide that determination is inactive a ton of devastation disconnected of the main roads," she said.  

The Associated Press contributed to this report.