While power outages, closures, and dangerous road conditions have plagued the county top to bottom, rural communities at higher elevations took the brunt of the snowfall.
“Right now, we got approximately 38 inches of snow, from what I last measured," said James Hyatt, the fire chief of Windsor, a community of under a thousand that sits 2,000 feet above sea level on the eastern edge of the county. “Most of the roads now were passable with one lane. Highway crews are currently working on opening up the rest so we can get them two lanes wide. Overall, conditions are fairly good. Not a ton of residents without power. All homes are accessible at this point. So, we're making progress, and we're doing pretty good, I think.”
Hyatt says the storm ranks among the most intense he and his wife have experienced over the 13 years they’ve lived in Windsor.
“We've had two other storms that I can remember were at this caliber," he told WAMC. "And the last one was a little over 40 inches over a three-day duration. So, this was a lot in two days.”
Other than staying off the roads if possible and driving carefully if they have to, Hyatt’s major warning to residents is to not overdo it shoveling.
“When you're out taking care of your driveway, take frequent breaks, drink plenty of water because you can dehydrate yourself in this type of weather as well," said the chief. "We don't want anybody getting hurt shoveling. Stuff’s wet, it's heavy. You just need to take your time when you're cleaning up the drive. Even with a snowblower, it can be extremely taxing in this in this type of snow.”
The chief says the community’s response to the storm and the lack of any major emergency despite the extreme conditions is a testament to Windsor’s character.
“It says an awful lot," he told WAMC. "It says that we're a resilient community. Most of our members are self-sufficient, but when they're not, boy, people really pull together. You know, I saw a couple of posts on Facebook where someone couldn't get out of their driveway because their plow guy was stuck in another town, and another person posted that they offered, their neighbor offered their tractor to come help dig them out. Those are the kinds of things that says this community is just a wonderful community to be a part of and it kind of makes you proud to be part of it.”
Some Berkshire residents who lost power during the storm are still waiting.
“I had actually just got back from a conference in Boston, the large cannabis conference that happens once a year called NECANN," said Dan McCarthy. "[I] Showed up Sunday night, I wound up coming down a little bit of a chill and getting sick. By the time I woke up, obviously, the storm was starting to set in place, and by the time Tuesday ran around, about 6 am, the power went out in total. And obviously that's heat, hot water, everything.”
McCarthy, media specialist at marijuana dispensary Canna Provisions in Lee, lives in West Stockbridge. As he watched power lines collapse under the heavy snow, he knew that this storm felt different.
“By the time 5 or 6 pm rolled around my girlfriend and I were basically huddled in our bedroom under our blankets with our dog, eating whatever we could that was cold because we couldn't really use any of our things to cook, and it just became too ridiculous of an idea to just sit in our West Stockbridge spot and freeze the night,” he told WAMC.
McCarthy, his girlfriend, and dog decamped to a motel in Lenox to spend Tuesday night with heat and hot water. But, invoking Murphy's law, his trials during the storm continued into Wednesday.
“I kind of came out this morning to get in my car, and I think my window was open maybe a quarter of an inch," said McCarthy. "And as soon as I opened my door it looked like my car was in ‘The Day After Tomorrow,’ my whole front seat and driver's wheel all frozen in snow. So, this- As far as nor'easters go I mean, I'm a New Englander, tried and true. But as far as Berkshires nor'easters go, this has been probably one of the more intense ones that we've lived through. And as of right now, our apartment in downtown West Stockbridge still has no power.”
In county seat Pittsfield, 2 feet of snow has city crews and contractors busy with cleanup.
“Certainly, if you do not have to go out on the road, it would help immensely to stay home," said Commissioner of Public Utilities Ricardo Morales. "It will make our work much easier. Plowing on the road with heavy traffic is very challenging, and it will just prolong the duration for us to get our roads back up and running in top shape.”
Trash pickup has now been delayed for two days in the community of 43,000.
“Our current plan is to have our Tuesday and Wednesday routes picked up on Thursday, and our Thursday route picked up on Friday," Morales told WAMC. "There may be some areas not picked up from the Tuesday and Wednesday. Those will be picked up on Thursday as well. And then the Friday route will be picked up on Saturday.”
