Saturday, February 10, 2007
Upstate N.Y. Towns Brace for More Snow
Forbes.com
I guess with the warm weather we got right through christmas and beyond...the lakes never got a chance to freeze over..and the lake affect snows continue...my prayers got to the people affected by this tremendous snowfall........andy
Ray DeLong took advantage of a break from the snow to use a blower to forge a path to his driveway as two contractors pushed streams of snow from the roof of his home.
The brief reprieve Friday ended early Saturday as snow fell at a rate of 2 to 3 inches per hour, further burying a region already tested by nearly record snowfalls.
"Have to move fast. Want to at least get it off my roof," DeLong said, just hours before more flakes began to fall.
More than a week of bitter cold and slippery roads have contributed to at least 20 deaths across the northern quarter of the nation - five in Ohio, four in Illinois, four in Indiana, two in Kentucky, two in Michigan, and one each in Wisconsin, New York and Maryland, authorities said. No deaths were reported in Oswego County, where Mexico is located, however.
By 9 p.m. Friday a heavy lake effect band started to intensify over the county, said Tony Ansuini, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Buffalo.
Officials expected up to 14 inches of snow overnight, a trend that would push the seven day total beyond 100 inches and continue through the weekend.
For DeLong and most of this village's 5,400 citizens, it has been exhausting.
"This is right up there with the best of them, almost as bad as the Blizzard of '66. But there ain't nothing good about this much snow," he grumbled as his snowblower clogged and stalled.
Located in upstate New York's snowbelt, Mexico residents every two or three years see a 5- or 6-foot snowfall. But even hardened locals are amazed at the scenes before them now, such as the site of parked SUVs noticeable only because their antennas or roof racks crack the snow's surface.
Persistent squalls have pounded Mexico and other Oswego County communities along eastern Lake Ontario since Sunday, leading Gov. Eliot Spitzer to declare a state disaster emergency in the county.
Unofficially, the snow measured 123 inches in Orwell and 122 inches in North Redfield, small hamlets in the county's eastern half.
Parish received 94 inches and Scriba reported 92 inches, according to the National Weather Service. Mexico Mayor Terry Grimshaw said his village was blanketed by seven feet.
Overnight, the lake effect band walloping Oswego was expected to move on to Lewis and Jefferson Counties.
Down the village's main street, 6-foot high snowbanks make the sidewalks look like mini-canyons.
With a day's reprieve, most of the village roads were cleared Friday, although schools were canceled for a fifth straight day.
The state transportation department has loaned several pieces of equipment to local municipalities as they work round the clock to remove snow from streets and sidewalks. The state was also expected to send workers to help in the removal effort.
Although authorities have reported few problems because of the snow, in Oswego, Fire Chief Ed Geers said his firefighters have had to help three ambulances that got stuck in the snow.
I guess with the warm weather we got right through christmas and beyond...the lakes never got a chance to freeze over..and the lake affect snows continue...my prayers got to the people affected by this tremendous snowfall........andy
Ray DeLong took advantage of a break from the snow to use a blower to forge a path to his driveway as two contractors pushed streams of snow from the roof of his home.
The brief reprieve Friday ended early Saturday as snow fell at a rate of 2 to 3 inches per hour, further burying a region already tested by nearly record snowfalls.
"Have to move fast. Want to at least get it off my roof," DeLong said, just hours before more flakes began to fall.
More than a week of bitter cold and slippery roads have contributed to at least 20 deaths across the northern quarter of the nation - five in Ohio, four in Illinois, four in Indiana, two in Kentucky, two in Michigan, and one each in Wisconsin, New York and Maryland, authorities said. No deaths were reported in Oswego County, where Mexico is located, however.
By 9 p.m. Friday a heavy lake effect band started to intensify over the county, said Tony Ansuini, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Buffalo.
Officials expected up to 14 inches of snow overnight, a trend that would push the seven day total beyond 100 inches and continue through the weekend.
For DeLong and most of this village's 5,400 citizens, it has been exhausting.
"This is right up there with the best of them, almost as bad as the Blizzard of '66. But there ain't nothing good about this much snow," he grumbled as his snowblower clogged and stalled.
Located in upstate New York's snowbelt, Mexico residents every two or three years see a 5- or 6-foot snowfall. But even hardened locals are amazed at the scenes before them now, such as the site of parked SUVs noticeable only because their antennas or roof racks crack the snow's surface.
Persistent squalls have pounded Mexico and other Oswego County communities along eastern Lake Ontario since Sunday, leading Gov. Eliot Spitzer to declare a state disaster emergency in the county.
Unofficially, the snow measured 123 inches in Orwell and 122 inches in North Redfield, small hamlets in the county's eastern half.
Parish received 94 inches and Scriba reported 92 inches, according to the National Weather Service. Mexico Mayor Terry Grimshaw said his village was blanketed by seven feet.
Overnight, the lake effect band walloping Oswego was expected to move on to Lewis and Jefferson Counties.
Down the village's main street, 6-foot high snowbanks make the sidewalks look like mini-canyons.
With a day's reprieve, most of the village roads were cleared Friday, although schools were canceled for a fifth straight day.
The state transportation department has loaned several pieces of equipment to local municipalities as they work round the clock to remove snow from streets and sidewalks. The state was also expected to send workers to help in the removal effort.
Although authorities have reported few problems because of the snow, in Oswego, Fire Chief Ed Geers said his firefighters have had to help three ambulances that got stuck in the snow.
