8 Feet of Snow in N.Y., and More Coming
Pastor Dale Morgan
Feb 9, 11:03 PM EST
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8 Feet of Snow in N.Y., and More Coming*
By WILLIAM KATES
Associated Press Writer
MEXICO, N.Y. (AP) -- Before weekend squalls add to the 8 feet of snow
already on the ground, the communities along eastern Lake Ontario needed
the dry respite they got Friday.
"Have to move fast. Want to at least get it off my roof," said Ray
DeLong, 75, as he carved a path to his driveway with a snowblower and
two contractors pushed streams of snow from the roof of his two-story home.
Snow squalls off Lake Ontario have dumped snow by the feet onto Oswego
County communities since Sunday, leading Gov. Eliot Spitzer to declare a
state disaster emergency.
Parish and Scriba had about 8 feet of snow since the squalls started,
according to the National Weather Service. Mexico Mayor Terry Grimshaw
said his village was blanketed by 7 feet.
On Friday, the squalls shifted south into Syracuse and stayed there,
dropping 4 to 8 inches of snow.
But forecasters said heavy snow bands would return to Oswego County
later Friday night and likely stall there again. The forecasts call for
another 6 to 12 inches, pushing the seven-day total over 100 inches.
While residents enjoyed Friday's lull, snow plows were out in full force
to clear roads. An advisory against any nonessential travel remained in
effect for Oswego and three nearby counties. Snow banks tower nearly 10
feet tall and have narrowed roads.
Although authorities have reported few problems because of the snow,
Oswego Fire Chief Ed Geers said his firefighters have had to help three
ambulances that got stuck in the snow.
Schools were closed the entire week. Mexico Superintendent Nelson
Bauersfeld said if the district exceeds its allotted six snow days, it
would have to shorten its winter or spring breaks.
"We try not to get into vacations if we can help it. So lets just hope
once this week is over we can get back to normal and be laughing about
this come June," Bauersfeld said.
More than a week of bitter cold and slippery roads have contributed to
at least 20 deaths across the northern quarter of the nation - five in
Ohio, four in Illinois, four in Indiana, two in Kentucky, two in
Michigan, and one each in Wisconsin, New York and Maryland, authorities
said. There have been no deaths in Oswego County related to the snow.
Tennessee and northern Alabama tasted a bit of winter weather Friday
morning - sleet and freezing rain iced over roadways, and some
precipitation briefly turned to snow.