Wet Winter Storm

Coats The Town

By Kendra Bobowick

Backs bent to the old-fashioned work, Tim Geary and Steven Kathan scraped shovels across the front walk leading to the Edmond Town Hall Wednesday morning. Residents awoke to another snowy morning Wednesday and by 9 when the two men had cleared the way, already foot traffic along Main Street had dwindled — only those on urgent business stomping their feet before entering the building. By 10:30 in the morning as several inches had accumulated and the forecast’s wintry mix added ice to the otherwise soft flakes, drivers had also slowly emptied from the streets.

Snow blowers covered the quieter sounds of the icy snow striking frozen evergreens, mailboxes and windshields slowly disappearing beneath a shroud of white. By noon the flakes were completely watered down. Earlier that morning, Bill Pendergast carved a path along the sidewalk in front of Newtown Savings Bank with a snow blower, shooting powdered arcs away from the walkway. Selectman Herb Rosenthal took out his small canine, despite the weather, and with the oblivious mischief of many dogs, his pet trotted through the snow without apprehension. By nightfall the landscape would be waterlogged with a snow storm that had converted to rain.

Aromas of bacon crisping on the griddle and brewing coffee escaped into the air each time a patron opened the tall front doors at the General Store. Bundled in knit hats, snow boots and mittens, bad weather did not prevent men and women from stopping at their favorite shop for breakfast and something warm to drink.

Hours earlier as the breakfast-goers slept, town crews got the call at 2 am Wednesday. They made their way to work and began to sand and plow the roads, said Highway Department Operations Manager Joe Tani. Well ahead of the morning’s commute, the first few inches of snowfall had been pushed aside. Despite this season’s relentless precipitation, Mr Tani was not concerned. “It’s our job,” he said. “It’s what we’re here to do.”

The meteorologists’ prediction of a messy change from snow to rain came true, and Wednesday afternoon Mr Tani turned his mind back to the wet roads, anticipating the ice that encrusted everything by Thursday morning, including travel lanes to work.