Winter Storm Snarls I-95 North Of New York City, Suburbs Scramble To Clear Snow
PORT CHESTER, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- The winter storm made for a tough morning Friday as communities north of New York City scrambled to clear the snow. Luckily, the tough conditions didn't last.
Port Chester, for example, recorded more than seven inches of snow, but Boston Post Road was clear by noon, CBS2's Tony Aiello reported.
Overnight, snow fell at a furious rate, almost an inch an hour in New Rochelle.
An impressive amount of snow in suburban Rye Brook was followed by an impressive clearing of the roads.
"This was a good storm. It comes overnight, and by the time the morning commute comes, the highway crews are out and able to get to the roads," said Rye Brook Police Chief Gregory Austin.
Naomi Jacob just moved her family to Katonah from the snowiest region of Austria. For daughter Nicki, this was a welcome reminder of her former home. Even the birds didn't seem to mind the blanket of white.
Major thoroughfares were passable for those who hit the road early, but that doesn't mean everyone was able to avoid danger.
Several tractor-trailer accidents shut down lanes on I-95 in southwestern Connecticut, snarling traffic before the sun came up.
"Stuck! You cannot move anywhere," one driver said.
"Messy, messy," said another.
"Not a great deal of fun," another driver said.
An average January brings 8 inches of snow to this part of the region. Most took this first storm of the season in stride.
"We haven't really got much so, you know, you can dodge a bullet here and there," said Scott McLeod.
Connecticut suburbs were blanketed in white, including 8 inches of snow recorded in Norwalk. As snow goes, it wasn't particularly difficult to clear, especially with a handy snow blower.
Hilly terrain and multiple dead end streets make Yonkers the most challenging suburb when it comes to clearing snow, but public works crews were doing their best in New York's third largest city.
Across the region, plows managed to scrape pavement bare in many places before 10 a.m.
The supervisor of Clarkstown in Rockland County said the storm was worrisome.
"It was a quick hitter, thank goodness, because all of the highway departments up this way have been dealing with staff shortages due to COVID," Supervisor George Hoehmann said. "We had 10 out of 70 that had been out at least part of this week with COVID."
Shovels, snow throwers and sunshine all did the trick -- the mess melting away.
