Jefferson County Emergency Management is declaring the southeastern part of the county a disaster area.

Yesterday's snow storm brought down several power lines, poles and tree limbs and left thousands without electricity.

Utility crews worked throughout the day picking up power poles and downed power lines across Jefferson County.

The county's emergency management director says the snow weighed them down.

"That snow was heavy. You couldn't take much of a scoopful last night. There was a lot of water," said John McKee, Jefferson County Emergency Management Director.

He said that snow fell fast. McKee said some areas saw up to 12 inches in just a few short hours.

Diller was one of the towns hardest hit. Nearly 10 inches of snow fell there. It's mostly all melting now, but Monday night it was enough to weigh down power lines which caused some people in town to lose power every 30 seconds.

"It was scary there at a point, not being prepared for electricity outages. We didn't have any candles or anything prepared for the snow," said Tania Cloete.

But the snow wasn't all bad. School was canceled in Diller and the kids took it all in.

"Playing in the snow, snowball fights, we made a big snowman in the backyard," said Jaco Cloete.

Although they got a play day to enjoy the fluff, county officials are working with the Governor to declare the county a disaster area.

Farmers in the area are concerned that the heavy snow will affect unharvested crops.
Jefferson County is still assessing the total damage caused by the storm.