A powerful winter storm is unlikely to spare the southern New England shoreline as the Nor’easter bears down on southwestern Rhode Island and southeastern Connecticut communities, but a dip in temperatures may help prevent the same level of damage caused by heavier, wet snow.
There is no question that the region is going to get a blast of snow, and across Rhode Island, communities were expected to see a blanket of snow upward of 18 to 24 inches, according to Glenn Field, warning coordination meteorologist at the National Weather Service. The snow was already expected to have dropped several inches by sunlight, he said, and would continue through the day and into Saturday evening.
“By morning, the Westerly area will be looking at heavy snow and that is expected to continue into the afternoon,” Field said. “The storm is going to move out Saturday night and should be done by 10 p.m., and Sunday is going to bring a big chill.”
Across the region, towns were preparing for the worst and hoping for the best. Westerly Police Chief and Acting Town Manager Shawn Lacey said Friday that the town was ready for the long haul, with public works crews set to come in at 4 a.m. He said the town would have approximately 30 trucks on the road with all crews, contractors and administrators, with 24 designated plow routes to help keep all areas of town accessible.
All workers were asked to be ready to work a 16- to 20-hour shift, with the goal of staying ahead of the storm.
“If the storm starts lasting longer than that, we have a plan in place that would allow us to begin resting staff, that way we are able to continue to keep the roads as clear as we can,” Lacey said.
A separate labor crew is also ready to go and will begin clearing sidewalks, walkways and other areas Saturday evening, continuing through the day Sunday. Lacey said the hope is that by Monday, barring any significant electrical outages, everything in the community will be “business as usual.”
From an emergency management perspective, Lacey said if the storm is worse than anticipated, the town is prepared to open an emergency warming shelter at the Westerly Senior Center. Those with individual issues are also encouraged to use the police department as a warming shelter, as the department remains open 24 hours.
In Stonington, First Selectman Danielle Chesebrough said she had talked with police and town staff Friday morning and the town decided to open the Emergency Operations Center at the Stonington Police Department. She said the hope is that it will improve communication and aid the town in cleaning up quickly once the storm is over.
“With the Emergency Operations Center open, we’ll be able to have a good and immediate flow of information,” she said.
The town on Friday had issued a blizzard warning on its website, part of an effort to actively provide residents with the information they need. The post included tips for preparation from the American Red Cross, as well as safety tips to help in the event of an emergency.
Chesebrough said residents were urged to be prepared for possible electric outages. Although predictions Friday afternoon still showed a chance for 12 to 18 inches, the town was preparing for 24 inches to fall.
“We would rather be overprepared than not ready,” she said.
In the event of more significant outages or issues, Chesebrough said the town is prepared to release information using the town’s emergency alert notification system. To sign up for notifications or for more storm preparedness information, visit the town website at www.stonington-ct.gov.
Several local organizations, including the Jonnycake Center of Westerly, announced that they would remain closed Saturday, and libraries in towns throughout the region will not be opening. The transfer stations in both Westerly and Stonington will also be closed Saturday, officials said, though Chesebrough said town staff hoped to reopen by Sunday in Stonington.
While the forecast certainly calls for snowy conditions, Richmond Public Works Director Scott Barber said it isn’t anything he hasn’t seen before. The longtime public servant and first responder said his crew has been preparing all week and was resting up, ready for what could be a busy two days to follow.
“It’s winter in New England, so we’re ready for this and any other winter storms to come,” Barber said. “There were some supply chain issues early this season that caused some delays with parts and other things, but it has been an easy winter so far so we have plenty of sand-salt mixture and our equipment is ready to go.”
The town, like every other throughout the region, has seen a drastic decline in interest from contractors over the past couple years. As a result, Barber has only been able to fill two of the available six contractor positions. He said that fortunately the town is blessed to have eight regular plow routes and four per-diem positions to provide needed staffing.
Towns aren’t the only ones preparing for the storm, however. With such heavy accumulation anticipated, both National Grid and Eversource have crews ready to go, if not responding in the storm where safe to do so, in an effort to minimize the impact of outages across Rhode Island and Connecticut.
In a press release, National Grid said the company has 3,621 field-based personnel taking part in emergency response operations across New England. This includes overhead line, forestry, contractors, underground, damage assessment, wires down, transmission, and substation workers.
Eversource said the company would continue to track the storm throughout the day Saturday and deploy crews as soon as it is safe to address any issues. Eversource President of Connecticut Electric Operations Steve Sullivan said the company “isn’t leaving anything to chance.”
“We have hundreds of crews flying in throughout the day today, and more arriving tomorrow, from southern and western parts of the country, so we don’t have to wait for them to drive here,” he said. “They’ll be geared up and ready to respond to this storm alongside our Eversource crews.”
Field said it will be impossible to avoid the blizzard-like conditions, but a cold front that led to flakes falling earlier than expected Friday could result in a 20-degree temperature during the storm. If that’s the case, the region would be in for a much lighter, fluffier and drier snow, which means less physical damage. With drier snow comes drifts, however, and with accumulation totals anticipated as they are, it could lead to three- or four-foot drifts in areas.
The storm is also going to bring a few days of colder temperatures, dipping to as low as 10 degrees by Sunday night. It won’t last too long, however, as forecasts call for temperatures to rise later in the week, possibly reaching the mid-40s by Wednesday and flirting with 50 degrees on Thursday.
But first, you’ll have to dig out a bit.
“The good news is it shouldn’t be that heavy, wet snow and so it should move pretty easily,” Fields said.
"impact" - Google News
January 29, 2022 at 09:00AM
https://bit.ly/3s3SpmW
Bracing for impact: Towns ready for snow, blizzard conditions from forecasted nor'easter - The Westerly Sun
"impact" - Google News
https://bit.ly/3Gb8ook
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Bracing for impact: Towns ready for snow, blizzard conditions from forecasted nor'easter - The Westerly Sun"
Post a Comment