Valley Independent Sentinel

SNOW: “Near Blizzard” Conditions Possible

by Vanessa Inzitari | Feb 9, 2010 5:48 pm

(0) | Commenting has expired | Send link to a friend | E-mail the Author

Posted to: Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour, Shelton

Update Schools in Ansonia, Derby, Oxford, Seymour and Shelton are closed Wednesday.

Original story follows:

Between midnight and Wednesday evening, the National Weather Service predicts up to 12 inches of snow will be dumped on the state in a storm that could reach “near blizzard conditions” at times.

It could be the biggest storm of the season, and Valley residents responded Tuesday in true New England form.

They went grocery shopping.

Anticipating that area schools will be closed Wednesday, Ansonia resident and mother Marjorie Charles went out to Big Y in Ansonia Tuesday afternoon to stock up on a few goodies for her family.

“My kids are going to be home, so I’m getting ready,” Charles said.

Charles said some of the items on her grocery list included hot chocolate, pudding, chips and ingredients to make soup.

Mike Macisco, 68, of Shelton, got his food shopping out of the way early Tuesday. He said he plans to stay home all day Wednesday.

“I’m not going out tomorrow. We’re definitely going to get [the snow],” he said. “We missed the last one, but we’ll get it this time.”

Andria Folger of Ansonia, who also did some shopping at Big Y on Tuesday, said because of the upcoming snow, she’s getting a day off from work.

“I work at a doctor’s office and because we have a lot of elderly patients, all of the day’s appointments were rescheduled,” Folger said.

Knowing she already has a snow day, Folger said plans on staying in and getting some house work done.

Over at the Ansonia Stop and Shop on Division Street, Ansonia resident Karen Townsend, 43, said while she’s not totally convinced the storm will be as severe as the forecast predicts, “I’d rather be safe than sorry.”

“Anytime snow is in the forecast, it’s overplayed, so this could be one of those times,” Townsend said. “Maybe we’ll get a foot, I don’t know, but I do have children I have to think about.”

The Forecast

The National Weather Service expects about 1 to 2 inches of snow to accumulate each hour, starting around midnight Tuesday and lasting until Wednesday evening. The NWS issued a winter storm warning Tuesday, advising people to stay off the roads if possible.

“As the storm intensifies, northeast winds will become strong and gusty during the day on Wednesday, then turn north Wednesday night. Gusts of 30 to 35 MPH will cause blowing and drifting snow,” the warning says.

The NWS says power outages from wind gusts and falling tree branches are possible.

(Get the full forecast here.)

Public Works Departments Prepare For The Big One

With the National Weather Service forecast predicting total snow accumulations between 8 and 12 inches, local public works departments Tuesday were also preparing.

In Seymour, Dennis Rozum, the director of Seymour Public Works, said the department began preparing for the storm Tuesday afternoon.

 “Right now, the trucks are being reviewed [and] we’re making sure the plows are in order,” Rozum said. “Some of the trucks we’ve put chains on.”

Rozum said the department, which is responsible for plowing about 95 miles of road and all the town schools, has about 17 trucks. Each truck, he said, has a specific route to travel during a snow storm.

If an emergency arises during a storm, Rozum said a truck’s route might be changed slightly in order to clear the roads for emergency crews that need to get through.

“We have contact with the police in case there are accidents,” Rozum said. “We have radios to let us know if there’s a fire or an ambulance call during the storm, and we can respond there as well.”

Rozum, who said he expects this snow storm to be the biggest one the department will face this season, said all public work employees will be called in shortly before the snow starts to treat the roads with Magic Salt ice melt.

Comments

view the full calendar »

News Feeds

Sponsors

Sponsors have no input into or responsibility for articles published on this site.

V.I.S. Site Design & Development