Crews in Owego worked on Wednesday to remove snow and clear roads and railroad crossings. (Photo by Wendy Post)
On Monday evening, a winter storm dubbed “Stella” began to wreak havoc in the Southern Tier, along with 15 other states in the Midwest and northeast region, dropping close to 40-inches of snow by the time it moved out in the middle of the night on Wednesday. For area residents, the storm stalled activities, closed businesses and schools, and left residents with the task of clearing their sidewalks, driveways and cars of record amounts of snow.
According to the National Weather Service (NWS) in Binghamton, the storm total as of 11:22 p.m. on Wednesday was at its highest in Endwell, with 36.2-inches recorded by a trained spotter. In Tioga County, Apalachin had 31.0 recorded by a trained spotter at 7:51 a.m. on Wednesday, with more snow anticipated to arrive throughout the day.
A typical scene for area residents as the storm progressed. In this photo, contributed by Donna Day of Rome, Pa., several cars were buried under three or more feet of snow on Wednesday.
With full travel bans in place in multiple counties, and a state of emergency in place across New York State, the area was pretty much on shut down while crews waited for the snow to end, and plows struggled to deal with the amount of snowfall received; some getting stuck and having to resort to heavier equipment.
Because of the depth and weight of the snow, the Governor of New York State deployed National Guard resources and additional plows to the Southern Tier on Wednesday to assist with snow removal in Broome County. Schools also saw their second day of closures, in spite of the lack of remaining snow days on their calendars.
Shawn King, of Owego, works to clear out a second car in downtown Owego on Wednesday. (Photo by Wendy Post)
The area also saw the closure of many of the areas businesses and service agencies throughout the two and a half day ordeal. Lockheed Martin in Owego, Tioga Downs in Nichols, and even health clinics and various hospital services were among the closures listed throughout the storm.
Downtown, in Owego, area merchants worked to clear their walks in anticipation of the storm’s end. Government services were shutdown, county wide, except for essential services – like snow removal.
But for many, the snowstorm brought people together, with neighbors helping neighbors to clear snow, and others checking in on residents who might live alone.
Michael Franz helps a neighbor clear their driveway on Wednesday. Franz spent much of his time during the storm trying to keep the snow levels manageable for clearing. With a daughter named Stella, Franz also felt a personal connection to the storm. With his ice cream shop on George Street and North Avenue set to open within the next week, Franz also had to keep the ice cream stand area clear as well. (Photo by Wendy Post)
One area resident that spent countless hours on Tuesday plowing sidewalks in his neighborhood, keeping the snowfall levels at bay, even had a bit of a sense of humor in all of it.
Michael Franz, owner of Ice Cream Works!, could be seen with his snow blower going up and down George Street in the Flats. It didn’t seem to be making that much of an impact as the snow was falling at close to 4-inches per hour on Tuesday, but he was helping nonetheless.
When approached, Franz chuckled at the irony, stating, “We are opening our ice cream shop next week, so I had to clear that area as well.” Franz also has a daughter named Stella, another irony.
In downtown Owego, resident Shawn King was just beginning to clear a second car that was buried under what appeared to be three or more feet of snow. King couldn’t recall seeing this much snow in the area at any time, but others did.
This Airedale Terrier, named Grux, enjoyed the snow in Candor on Tuesday. (Photo contributed by Jennifer Schecter)
According to historical data from the weather service, the normal annual snowfall for Owego, New York is 43.4 inches. On March 16, the snowfall was recorded nearing that number, and at 33.7 inches. The total snowfall for the season, for Tioga County as of March 16, is 62.2 inches.
The snowfall amount for Tioga County during Stella, however, exceeded that of 1993, when 24-inches of snow was recorded on March 14. And area residents, via social media, were making a reference to that particular storm in 1993.
But now, Stella will go on record as being an historic event that shut down highways and businesses, and brought the National Guard to the area for assistance.
As of Thursday, schools were anticipating delays as crews continued to work on snow removal. The high winds that arrived on Wednesday added a second crippling element of drifting snow, and the work continued.
And unlike the windstorm in Rochester a week earlier that downed trees and power lines, and resulted in the loss of power to literally thousands of residents, there were minimal power outages reported during snowstorm Stella, and there were no deaths within the county reported as a direct result of the storm.
And Stella has left her mark, record-wise. According to the NWS, Stella became the heaviest snowstorm on record in the Southern Tier, surpassing Winter Storm Argos in November.
Be the first to comment on "Winter Storm Stella cripples the area; close to 40-inches recorded"