Powder outage
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Benches in downtown Rutland are covered with snow. Cassandra Hotaling / Rutland Herald |
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By PATRICK McARDLE STAFF WRITER - Published: January 4, 2010
The weekend's snowstorms caused some inconvenience in many places but no real problems even though it resulted in a lot of accumulation in some areas.
The extended snowstorm, which is expected to linger until at least Wednesday, is being caused by a high pressure system over Greenland that's preventing the snow from moving on, according to meteorologist Maureen Breitbach with the National Weather Service in Burlington, which got hit with over 30 inches already from this storm, and more on the way.
As of Sunday afternoon, most of the reports of accumulation hadn't been updated since the morning, but Breitbach said Pittsford had reported 11 and a half inches at 11:30 a.m.; Sudbury had reported 10 and a half inches at 11:30 a.m.; Mendon had reported 10 inches at 6:30 a.m.; and Poultney had reported 9 inches around 1 p.m.
A National Weather Service observer in Rutland had reported 4.7 inches at 7 a.m., but Breitbach said another report from Rutland had said there were 7 inches of accumulation around 6:30 a.m. Breitbach said that could have been due to reports coming in from different parts of Rutland at different elevations.
According to Breitbach, the heavy accumulation in Burlington was a result of the geography in the area. Other areas of the state did not report record-breaking snow accumulation.
Rutland Police Sgt. Debra Perkins said the snow had not created any real problems.
"We've had hazardous conditions but people have been staying off the streets. We've had very few collisions. Considering the amount of snow we've gotten, we've had a pretty good day," she said.
While a heavy snowfall often means fire departments are called out to many accidents, Deputy Chief Fran Robillard of the Rutland Fire Department said that wasn't the case on Sunday.
"We've had a very quiet day. The weather (Sunday) didn't affect us at all," he said.
Throughout Sunday many cars were reported off the road in areas of Bennington and Windham counties but other areas saw very few problems. A dispatcher for the Springfield Police Department said the only traffic problem reported on Sunday was a single car that slid off the road.
Despite the number of cars off the road, police did not report any serious injuries.
Roads may have been worse in Bennington and Windham counties because of the different snow conditions. Hugh Johnson, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Albany, N.Y., which monitors southern Vermont, said the area had been hit by a "powerful storm that brought a tremendous amount of precipitation."
"It's not over either. The area is still under the gun for a few more hours which could mean a few more inches (of snow)," he said on Sunday afternoon.
In Bennington County, 15 inches of snow was reported early on Sunday in Landgrove and Woodford. Johnson said that was likely to mean some areas of the county had seen 20 inches of snow by the end of the day.
In Windham County, Londonderry reported 14 inches; Stratton reported 12 inches; and West Dover reported 8 inches. Johnson said all those reports were from Sunday morning.
Another factor in the low number of reported accidents may have been the wind. Forecasters expected heavy winds on Saturday night and into Sunday but Breitbach said that for the most part, those winds didn't materialize. She said she noted winds of about 30 to 35 mph in Montpelier around 1 a.m. on Sunday but those were the exception.
The National Weather Service is expecting the snow to continue through midweek, primarily as snow showers. Breitbach said by Wednesday, most of the serious snowfall would be in the mountains.
Road crews were working much of Sunday to keep the roads passable. Bennington Town Manager Stuart Hurd said the town's road crews had been busy as the storm continued through the weekend.
"I think the storm caught everybody a little by surprise in its longevity but our highway supervisor (Raymond "R.J." Joly) had his guys out there twice. I think it went as smoothly as could be expected given the amount of snow we received," he said.
Hurd expected the road crews would be out again early today as people returned to their daily routine.
patrick.mcardle@rutlandherald.com
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