The Snow Isn’t Over… Yet

By Kendra Bobowick

The snow fell hardest as drivers tried to make their ways safely to work Monday morning, fighting their steering wheels while maneuvering through what would amount to an estimated eight inches of accumulation that had begun falling Sunday night.

“We were ready, we’re good,” said Department of Public Works Deputy Director David Bratz. “We have enough out there for at least two more storms.” He might need it. Daylight Saving Time and the onset of spring do not mean anything to the weather; snow remains in the forecast for March.

“I don’t think the season is over yet,” said Gary Lessor, assistant to the director of the Weather Center at Western Connecticut State University. “Keep an eye out for more midmonth,” he predicts. “There is still a lot of cold air in Canada.”

This week’s storm may have surprised some residents who awoke Monday to find the sharp edges of their front staircase softened by several inches of snow, but Mr Bratz’s team had been preparing since last Friday. Almost 48 hours ahead of the storm, highway crews prepared the trucks and themselves for what turned into an around-the-clock push to keep the roads clear. As flakes fell Sunday night, they got the call in to work just prior to 11, and worked straight through until about 6 pm Monday. They were called back early Tuesday, before sunrise, to clear what wind gusts had blown into roads and school parking lots. Nevertheless, Newtown’s schools were opened 90 minutes late on March 3.

“You clear it up, the wind puts it back,” Mr Bratz said.

Wind drifts blown into travel lanes aside, the snow removal went well, he said. “It wasn’t the wet, heavy snow of early spring. It was more like January or February snows,” he said. By noon Tuesday a majority of his crews were home for a rest.

Since mid-December the town and the state have been bundled regularly in mittens and snow shoes, battling winter weather.

“We went from December 19 to last week with snow cover. That’s extremely unusual,” said Mr Lessor, who said that compared to the nearly 2½ months that the ground has been hidden beneath snow and ice, 30 days is considered a long time for the winter precipitation to linger.

“This will be a memorable winter,” he said.

Although the recent storm did not quite live up to its potential of the 12-inch predictions, Mr Lessor said the region has seen slightly more than 40 inches of snow this season, compared to an average 49 inches.