As we dig out from one snowstorm, another is on the way.
The morning saw school cancellations, delays and slow commutes, the result of a storm that began Sunday evening. Several school districts called a snow day; the University at Albany switched to remote learning.
"So there was at least six inches of snow on the ground by 9 o'clock this morning. With the another few inches coming after that, and we're looking at about eight inches of snow on the ground," said City of Albany Deputy Commissioner for the Department of General Services Frank Zeoli.
Travel on the Massachusetts Turnpike from Palmer to the New York State border was restricted to 40 miles per hour. The snow was blamed for low visibility and several car crashes, plus scattered power outages.
Central Hudson's Joe Jenkins says the utility responded to close to 2,300 outages.
"We have a full complement of our internal crews," said Jenkins. "And we do have our contractors on within our service territory as well. So we're fully prepared to respond to any additional outages as they do occur. So we'll continue to keep an eye on those conditions and keep our crews out there.”
A spokesman says most damage in National Grid territory was caused by heavy snow buildup on trees and power lines. Broken branches and trees coming down on lines caused scattered outages that affected more than 4,000 customers in New York and more than 6,800 in Massachusetts.
Zeoli says heavy wet snow broke branches on nearly a dozen trees scattered across Albany.
"We'll have crews out overnight," Zeoli said. "They'll be pushing back, moving snow back, trying to get as close to the parking lanes as we can, and cleaning up the residuals on the road. There'll be no parking restrictions, no snow emergencies being called or anything of that nature. But we'll be out there well into tonight and even tomorrow we'll still be doing cleanup."
Nearly 10,000 Green Mountain Power customers were without service in Vermont as the snow continued falling through late afternoon.
Vermont-based meteorologist Roger Hill warns another snowstorm is approaching, which will begin as a mix of sleet and freezing drizzle.
"The bulk of the snow looks like it's going to be starting to work on in in the afternoon hours on Wednesday and then continue to spread north and east," Hill said. "And this is another weather system that's going to put some snow on top of what we already have. And you start seeing some of the snowfall really add up in our local mountains. And it's probably better than a foot in some locations of the Southern Green Mountains maybe a little bit into the Berkshire's and probably some parts of the Adirondacks have seen some pretty good snow, mostly in the southern areas. Northern parts of the Adirondacks and northern parts of Vermont, we didn't see quite as much as is central and southern areas did. But on level up where I live in the vicinity of Montpelier, we have about anywhere from about four to 10 inches and 10 inches really starts and heads as they go southbound to the Massachusetts-Vermont border. That seemed to be with the jackpot snows were occurring."
Jenkins says anyone who sees a power line down shouldn't go near it. Call 911 or your utility to report it.
"The other important thing is if you do have a power outage and you're looking to stay warm over the evening hours it's important to remember to not use a grill or a gas grill indoors," said Jenkins. "Those are intended for outdoor use only and they produce deadly carbon monoxide."
