It’s A New Month, And Winter Keeps Piling It On

By Andrew Gorosko

& Shannon Hicks

They say March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, but what will we be saying about February 2011 when we look back at it? With snow on February 1 and, following a break of about six hours, a second front that brought freezing rain and ice into town on February 2, it won’t be groundhogs we will be remembering.

The eighth major storm of this winter season arrived before daybreak on Tuesday, February 1, when the ground was already covered with layers of snow and ice from storms that have been arriving steadily since December 26. By the time it was over a day and a half later, another four inches of snow were on the ground. This time, however, the new precipitation was quickly crusted over when the snow turned to a light rain by late Tuesday afternoon and continued into Wednesday following a short break in the precipitation.

On February 2, while much of the country was waiting to see what Punxsutawney Phil had to say about the next six weeks, Newtown was dealing with the second half of a two-part storm that had switched from Tuesday’s snow into a miserable mix of freezing rain and sleet by very early Wednesday.

The National Weather Service (NWS) has labeled this week’s two-pronged weather event “a winter storm of historic proportions.” While Newtown was in its lull between the weather events of Tuesday and Wednesday, a large swath of blizzard warnings, winter storm warnings, freezing rain advisories, winter weather advisories and winter storm watches remained in effect over much of the country. At 3:45 Tuesday afternoon, NWS warnings and advisories stretched from New Mexico and the Southern Plains northeastward through the Midwest and into the upper Mid-Atlantic and New England.

By midday Wednesday, Newtown had received 4.25 inches of snow and sleet, said Gary Lessor, a meteorologist and the assistant director of The Weather Center at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury.

The amount of snowfall varied from place to place within the state, he said, noting that Groton received only one-half inch of snow/sleet, while South Canaan received 8.25 inches.

The first part of the double-barreled storm produced less snow than was expected, and ended sooner than was anticipated, he said. The second part of the storm produced the conditions that weather forecasters had predicted.

Trees and shrubs encased in ice crackled and shed their extra layer as wind bent their limbs. Slightly warmer temperatures in the mid 30s began along with the rain-added weight to the abundance of snow on rooftops, prompting many homeowners and businesses to shovel it off.

On top of the Newtown Municipal Center a crew from Trumbull-based Mastri Builders pushed snow off a flat portion of that roof, while town crewman John Benvenuti ran a snowblower across the entrance to Dickinson Park on Elm Drive.

Icing, the possibility of power outages, and the added weight on already overburdened roofs was an additional concern Wednesday. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), freezing rain was affecting the entire tri-state region by sunrise that morning.

Newtown had one storm-related incident of a roof collapse from this storm, although that happened on Tuesday, not Wednesday. At noon, Botsford Fire Rescue was sent to 201 South Main Street following a reported partial roof collapse. (See related story.)

Ice building up on trees and wires created a few incidents on Wednesday. Around noon, a tree branch fell on the primary wires in the area of 12 Cold Spring Road, knocking power out to the area including Middle Gate School. Less than an hour later a falling tree reportedly pulled down the wires in the area of 60 Elm Drive. Residents in the immediate area also lost power.

According to CL&P’s outage reports that hour, 39 customers were affected by the two outages, representing 0.36 percent of the utility’s customer base in Newtown. Later in the afternoon a tree on a wire affected another 33 customers when a branch pulled down wires and affected a transformer in the area of 3 Arrowhead Lane.

 Storm Prep, Cleanup Issues

Residents had been preparing for this storm for days. Public Works employees, still exhausted from cleanup following the 12 inches of snow that came on January 27, continued working on Friday and even on Saturday, January 29, to clear roadways and sightlines across town.

Town crews worked to improve motorists’ sight lines that have been obstructed by snow banks, and also to widen the travel area of roads that have been narrowed by the presence of snow banks, said Public Works Director Fred Hurley. That work included removing snow from some intersections.

Also, workers removed snow from some flat school roofs on Saturday and again on Wednesday, he said,

When the new storm arrived on Tuesday, town road crews accomplished much snow removal, thus simplifying their work for Wednesday, said Mr Hurley.

On Tuesday, road workers deposited large amounts of a sand/salt mixture on local roads in anticipation of the sleet/freezing rain conditions on Wednesday, Mr Hurley said.

The workers ended their duties at 7:30 pm Tuesday and returned to work at 4 am Wednesday, he said. On Wednesday, crews were working to remove accumulations of slush from local streets, he said.

Mr Hurley noted that the town has 258 miles of roadway, making the local road network the sixth longest road network of any municipality in the state. Besides town staffers performing snow removal, the town has hired three contractors to help with snow cleanup work, he said.

During snow removal, the physically rugged and densely developed neighborhoods situated along Lake Zoar pose particular challenges, he said.

“Any hill presents a challenge,” he added. 

Although the stormy weather that hit the area this week was not as intense as some earlier storms this winter, it was of longer duration, Mr Hurley said.

“I think we dodged what could have been a much bigger bullet,” he said.

Meanwhile, a number of residents and businesses also took advantage of the sun over the weekend to take care of clearing roofs themselves or hired professionals.

State Coordination

In addition, on Monday, January 31, Governor Dannel P. Malloy held conference calls with the Departments of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, Public Safety, Transportation, Administrative Services, and Public Health to discuss storm preparedness. Gov Malloy then activated the state’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC) at 9 am Tuesday, responding to the substantial storm that blasted our state with snow, ice, sleet, and rain.

Shortly after 5 pm Tuesday, Gov Malloy issued a voluntary ban to keep all tandem tractor trailer trucks stay off Connecticut’s highways from midnight until 4 pm Wednesday.

On February 2, Maureen Will, communications director of the Town of Newtown, issued a Code Red alert to remind residents and contractors of the issues that have been building as snow continues to arrive and space for it lessens.

“Town residents and private contractors are urged to remember that plowing snow from driveways and walkways onto the roadway is not only illegal, but dangerous,” she said in part. “Due to the amount of snow accumulated thus far and with winter storms predicted, we have reached a critical stage in the community.

“Pushing snow across the street and into existing berms or snow banks has caused our roadways to become dangerously narrow … Narrowing of roadways will cause serious repercussions for our emergency service personnel,” she continued. “We need to ensure that police, fire, and EMS can reach you, and that Public Works can continue to maintain and clear an open passage for us all.”

Mrs Will’s message joined similar reminders already issued by the police department and First Selectman Pat Llodra in recent weeks.

Mr Hurley reiterated the appeal of Mrs Will and others on Wednesday when he urged residents and snow removal firms to avoid plowing snow from private driveways onto streets. Such methods create obstructions for town snowplows, lengthening the time that it takes for snow removal from streets, he said. Snow plowed from private properties must be placed on private property, he said.

A February 3 records check of recent police enforcement activity indicates that police issued three infraction tickets for violations of a state law which prohibits plowing snow from driveways and/or walkways onto roadways. Such tickets carry a $50 fine. The violations were issued on January 24, 27, and 28. The offenses occurred on Toddy Hill Road, Boggs Hill Road, and Main Strreet.

 

72 Inches And Counting

Gary Lessor said it is unusual to have back-to-back storms such as those that occurred this week.

“It does happen from time to time,” he noted Wednesday afternoon. The two storms were “waves of energy” that were attached to one large frontal system, he said.

According to Mr Lessor, the reason the area has been hit with so many winter storms stems from the action of an atmospheric effect known as the North Atlantic oscillation. When considering the positioning of the jet stream over North America and the presence of a long-lived high pressure system over Greenland, the winter weather systems that have moved across the United States have traveled to the Northeast, he said.

As of midday Wednesday, the White Street weather station in Danbury had recorded 72.2 inches of snow having fallen this winter, Mr Lessor said.

Considering the frequency of storms this winter, there is the prospect of overall snowfall this winter potentially surpassing the record 115 inches of snow that fell during the 1995-96 winter, he said.

Eventually, the atmospheric conditions that have caused frequent snowstorms in the area will change, Mr Lessor said, noting that those conditions have been in place for a relatively long time. Forecasters expect there will be several more winter storms during the coming two weeks, he added.

For those keeping track, this week’s storm added another two days of school to the six that had already been canceled due to this season’s weather.

Punxsutawney Phil, and his Connecticut counterpart Chuckles VII, had better be right: Their prediction Wednesday morning was that winter will be done in six weeks.

(With additional reporting by Kendra Bobowick.)