Snow falling, total could be 3 to 6 inches: Highway crews working the storm

Shelter Highway Department Crews were called in at 4 a.m. on Sunday and out on the roads an hour later to battle the first significant snowfall of the season, according to Department Superintendent Ken Lewis Jr.

“We got everybody in early this morning,” Mr. Lewis told the Reporter at 5:30 a.m.  

About a dozen department vehicles were on Island roads, including four big trucks, smaller dump trucks and pickups with plows.

“The roads are O.K.,” Mr. Lewis said. 

The snow is the light and fluffy variety and not a heavy wet snow, so it’s not as difficult to get off road surfaces, and doesn’t do as much damage to overhead power lines and tree branches.

Mr. Lewis was looking at several indicators for the extent of the storm, including the National Weather Service (NWS), which is calling for anywhere between 3 to 6 inches of snow before it’s all over around lunch time.

The NWS has declared a Winter Weather Advisory from now until 1 p.m. An Advisory means one or more types of winter precipitation, including snow, sleet, or freezing rain is in the forecast, presenting hazardous conditions, especially for drivers.

It will be cold, with a high temperature of about 33 degrees, but the wind chill values will be between 15 and 25 degrees, according to the NWS. The wind will be out of the north at 6 to 11 mph this morning, but increase as the day goes along to 13 to 18 mph.

Tonight, it will be bitterly cold, according to the NWS, with temperatures getting down to 16 degrees, but it will feel like zero. The wind will shift to the northwest at 21 to 23 mph, with gusts as high as 33 mph. 

Mr. Lewis advised Islanders that this was a good day to “stay indoors and stay off the roads. It’s going to be cold, and the roads will be really slick,” he said. “If you don’t have to go out, it’s better to stay home. And if you have to go out, be really careful.”