OSWEGO, NY – The Port City’s DPW is trying to keep up with the lake effect snow as best they can.
“We’re out there shoving it around,” Mike Smith, DPW commissioner, said today (Feb. 10). “But, we’re starting to run out of places to put it.”
As of 4:15 p.m. today, Mayor Randy Bateman has lifted the Winter Parking Advisory.
The mayor said he thanks all motorists who didn’t park on the city streets during the winter parking advisory so city resources could clear the streets.
Mayor Bateman also thanked the city Department of Works for its “constant endeavors of keeping our streets plowed.”
If it is at all possible, Mayor Bateman is asking residents to still continue not to park on city streets.
“It makes it easier for the Department of Works to clear our streets, especially the smaller ones, for emergency vehicles,” he explained.
Smith said the plows were focusing on the areas that needed the most attention, making sure the main roads and emergency routes were cleared.
“We have been trying to stay ahead of the snow during the breaks. But it has a mind of its own,” he said. “It’s a fairly big storm and since we’ve already had a lot, we’re having trouble finding a place to put it all. It’s challenging.”
“The houses and trees look as though they are peeking out from underneath a fluffy white blanket. What a treat for the eyes, as long as I don’t have to drive in it, ” said Michele Southgate, of Lakeside Artisans. The group plans to open an Artisans’ Co-Op at 193 W. First St., in Canal Commons in March.
Other areas of the county have experienced even greater accumulations.
Due to exceptionally difficult winter weather, Thursday’s scheduled meetings of the county’s Finance and Personnel Committee and the County Legislature have been rescheduled for Friday at 1:50 p.m. and 2 p.m., respectively, according to Ted Jerrett, county clerk.
The first batch of snow came through between 1 and 7 a.m. dumping 6 inches on the Port City.
“I was up at 4:30 a.m. and moved snow until 8:30 a.m. It was coming down so hard I had to blow the driveway twice,” said John DeRousie of Custom Marketing Solutions. “It started again about 9:30 a.m. Looks like I will be repeating my morning routine!”
“The storm came back at us around 8:30 a.m. and lasted until about 11 a.m.,” according to Bill Gregway, local observer for the National Weather Service. “We received another 5.5 inches then for a total of 11.5 inches.”
That’s pushed the monthly total to 33.6 inches. A typical February receives 34.5 inches.
For the winter, Oswego’s snow total has now eclipsed its average. The winter of 2010 – 11 now stands at 153.3 inches; a normal winter is 150.8 inches of snow.
While the city of Fulton didn’t get as much earlier today, it’s received its share.
As of Thursday morning, Fulton had 28.6 inches of snow for the month and 188.7 inches for the winter, according to John Florek, Fulton’s weather watcher.
It could be worse, he noted. As of Feb. 9, 2004, the total was 233.0 inches – en route to the second snowiest winter season in Fulton (272.5 inches).
That was less than 3 inches away from the snowiest winter in Fulton (275.0 in 1995-96).
The average snowfall for a Fulton Winter is 178.3 inches.
“The snowiest February for Oswego was just recently, 95.9 inches in 2007,” Gregway said.
While most other Februarys have been rather moderate a few caught Gregway’s eye as he was checking his record book.
“From 1965 through 1972, every one of those Februarys was way up there in snowfall,” he said. “In 1972 the total was 94.1 inches.”
I have been enjoying the winter snow report on Oswego while I am down in North Carolina for the winter. However I cant help remebering the winter of 1958-59 when we had a snow storm on Dec. 7th and when I got up the next morning I couldn’t get out the door as 50 inches of snow had fallen in 24 hrs. i had to go out a window and clear the snow in front of the door. The roads wern’t plowed and I think Mayor Corsall toured the City on a dog sled that someone from Central Square brought in. Now thats some snow fall.