Storm Watch: Northern Suburbs See Most Significant Snowfall In Years
CLARKSTOWN, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- In the northern suburbs, parts of Westchester and Rockland counties saw at least eight inches of snow.
The northern burbs woke up to the heaviest snow in two years.
Drone Force 2 flew over some of the areas blanketed in snow left behind by a storm that churned for more than 13 hours.
Plow convoy on I-287 in #WestchesterCounty. Great job @NYSThruway - road is definitely passable. #GoSlow #BeSafe pic.twitter.com/k9MPJT5SUm
— Tony Aiello (@AielloTV) December 17, 2020
As CBS2's Tony Aiello reports, shovels, brooms and snowblowers do the cleanup at private homes, while plow drivers such as Eric Gabrielson move tons of snow off the roads.
From Wednesday into Thursday, he'll spend 20 hours behind the wheel with just a five hour break.
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"It's rough, but you just do what you gotta do," Gabrielson said.
After last year's low-snow winter, he's grateful for the overtime.
"Oh yeah, with Christmas around the corner it's nice to get the extra money," he said.
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"For the town of Clarkstown this will cost probably cost us $80,000-100,000 in additional overtime and costs," said Clarkstown Town Supervisor George Hoehmann.
He says this storm was significant. Town police handled more than 100 calls for service - first responders getting the job done under difficult conditions.
"Six accidents, one with injury. So definitely call volume was up but most people stayed off the roads," Hoehmann said.
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Overnight, those who had to drive found roads generally passable. Plows managed the inch-per-hour accumulation without too much trouble. Essential workers who had to venture out found steady winds that at times obscured vision.
"It's cold and it's windy and at times it's hard to see. When the wind picks up and it's flying all over the place it's really low visibility," said Daniel Dworkin.
If you were dreaming of a white "eight days before Christmas," this storm was for you.
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