PARISH, N.Y. - With more than 8 feet of snow already coating the ground, it wasn’t good news for this winter-weary region when the blue sky turned gray Saturday, signaling another intense snow squall was about to dump some more.
“This is bad,” said 67-year-old Dave DeGrau, who has operated an auto repair shop on Main Street for 45 years. “We had a very easy winter until now. Last fall during hunting season it rained every time I went out. I kept saying ‘I’m glad this isn’t snow.’ Now, it’s snow.”
Persistent bands of lake-effect snow squalls fed by moisture from Lake Ontario have been swinging up and down this part of central New York along the lake’s eastern shore since last Sunday.
The National Weather Service said Parish — about 25 miles northeast of Syracuse — reached a milestone early Saturday with 100 inches of snow during the past seven days. Late Saturday, the total had risen to 110 inches. Unofficial reports pegged totals at 123 inches in Orwell and 122 in Redfield, but those measurements include snow from another storm a couple of days before the current weather system. All three towns are in Oswego County.
Several more feet possible
A warning in effect until Monday morning said 2 to 4 more feet of snow was possible with wind gusting up to 24 mph.
“That’s all we need,” Mike Avery said as he took a brief break from loading dump trucks with snow to be hauled to a pile outside town. “It’s getting monotonous.”
The fluffy new snow was a magnet for snowmobilers, but stopping was out of the question.
“You can’t stop or you’re done,” said Dan Hojnacki, 23, of Syracuse, after he ground to a halt in a field. “I never got stuck until today, and I’ve been snowmobiling for 10 years.”
Residents of the nearby town of Mexico see 5- to 6-foot snowfalls every two or three years, but this time even hardened locals are amazed. The only sign of parked SUVs are their radio antennas or roof racks sticking up above the snow. Front doors are buried and footprints lead to second-story windows. Sidewalks that have been dug out look like miniature canyons.
MSN
“This is bad,” said 67-year-old Dave DeGrau, who has operated an auto repair shop on Main Street for 45 years. “We had a very easy winter until now. Last fall during hunting season it rained every time I went out. I kept saying ‘I’m glad this isn’t snow.’ Now, it’s snow.”
Persistent bands of lake-effect snow squalls fed by moisture from Lake Ontario have been swinging up and down this part of central New York along the lake’s eastern shore since last Sunday.
The National Weather Service said Parish — about 25 miles northeast of Syracuse — reached a milestone early Saturday with 100 inches of snow during the past seven days. Late Saturday, the total had risen to 110 inches. Unofficial reports pegged totals at 123 inches in Orwell and 122 in Redfield, but those measurements include snow from another storm a couple of days before the current weather system. All three towns are in Oswego County.
Several more feet possible
A warning in effect until Monday morning said 2 to 4 more feet of snow was possible with wind gusting up to 24 mph.
“That’s all we need,” Mike Avery said as he took a brief break from loading dump trucks with snow to be hauled to a pile outside town. “It’s getting monotonous.”
The fluffy new snow was a magnet for snowmobilers, but stopping was out of the question.
“You can’t stop or you’re done,” said Dan Hojnacki, 23, of Syracuse, after he ground to a halt in a field. “I never got stuck until today, and I’ve been snowmobiling for 10 years.”
Residents of the nearby town of Mexico see 5- to 6-foot snowfalls every two or three years, but this time even hardened locals are amazed. The only sign of parked SUVs are their radio antennas or roof racks sticking up above the snow. Front doors are buried and footprints lead to second-story windows. Sidewalks that have been dug out look like miniature canyons.
MSN
