Snow piles up in parts of Orange County, where refreezing becomes the next concern
MONROE, N.Y. -- Temperatures were expected to take a nose dive on Tuesday night, so the afternoon saw a rush to clean up from the snowstorm before any possible refreezing.
CBS New York spent the day in Orange County, where the storm really put some towns in the bull's-eye.
Almost halfway through a snow-free February, Mother Nature reasserted her snowmaking ways.
It's lovely when it comes down, but cleaning up ... it's a pain," said Carlos Cosme of Monroe.
Pain measured in inches of accumulation. More than 9 at one spot in Monroe and even more in other parts of the county.
"It looks like we got hammered pretty good," one person said.
"We've had a little snow past few months. This is the most we've had," added Daisy Flores of Monroe.
Aiello then went to Chester, where he measured 10 inches of snow on top of a garbage can.
Shovels, snow throwers and plows were all pressed into cleanup duty.
"I'm a teacher, so I got the day off today. Besides that, it has been work to get this off the ground," Gabriel Cosme said.
The Contreras family only had to do a little touchup on the driveway, thanks to their neighbor who lent a hand with his snow thrower.
"He's the best, best neighbor across from me. He do all the job!" Marcus Contreras said.
One station in Chester measured 13 inches of snow. Aiello busted out the measuring stick again and found a spot with 11 inches.
"Beautiful, fluffy, white, makes everything look pristine," resident Jeanne Pungello said.
The fairly heavy snow can be hard on the muscles and the heart. Tom Maniaci had to resort to shoveling after his snow thrower died. He said his wife warned him, "She's always ... please be careful."
Which he was by taking small scoops and plenty of breaks.
At its peak, the storm was intense. Sidewalks that were shoveled at 8:30 a.m. were covered again by 8:40 a.m.
The northern suburbs saw a number of big rigs jackknifed. Other vehicles spun out or slid off the road.
"Gotta work 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. today," said Marc Jean, who was heading down to Rockland County.
Jean said he was worried about his drive back home to Chester, knowing temperatures were expected to drop and wet patches may freeze.
"You gotta be careful, prepare yourself, leave on time, or early because you don't know what the outcome's gonna be," Jean said.