Snow Storm Hits Northern New England Hard
Paul Gay
February 24, 2009
Northern New England is experiencing its second straight winter of above average snow fall. The last storm on Feb. 22nd dumped several inches wet-heavy class of snow on much of the region. Over 130,000 electric customers in Maine experienced power outages. As of Tuesday evening, two days later, 40,000 were still out. The governor was forced to declare a, "State Of Emergency" for only a few feet of snow. Maine can usually handle such volumes with little trouble; however this was the type of snow which stuck to everything. The snow, coupled with high winds, turned the event into a blizzard. The state also has the most highly forested in the country. Trees were suddenly burdened with hundreds of pounds of additional weight causing them to bend or break. Many ended up on power lines, homes, roads parked vehicles and so on. Some of this added weight snapped utility poles making recovery even more difficult. The outages quickly overwhelmed the regional electric companies forcing them to call other states and Canada for assistance.
The government immediately erected several "warming stations" around the area. These were school gyms or other public buildings where people without power could go to get warm. Some even offered food and a cot to sleep on. Since then, several full blown shelters have opened. Fortunately most people who live in this region have alternative ways to heat their home. Some use wood stoves, kerosene heaters, or have generators. Cold temperatures can quickly cause pipes to burst and a variety of other problems.
Shoveling-out, as the locals like to call it, was messy, back-breaking and time consuming. Each shovel of snow insisted on staying glued to the shovel with every throw. Each toss felt like a short bungee cord yanking it back, rendering the frequent effect of pulling the unsuspecting shovel operator off balance and into the snow bank. The only way to un-stick the snow from the shovel was to bang it hard on the ground.
Many people made the mistake of waiting a day or two before clearing the snow from their mailbox. It´s hard to blame them though because many were very sore from clearing their roofs, driveways and walkways. At the time, the mailbox seemed like the lowest of priorities. Unfortunately the temperature dropped well below freezing the next day making the snow bank rock hard. Snow around a mailbox is already extremely hard-packed because of the snowplow. In this case, the problem was amplified because the snow had so much water trapped inside that the banks froze into a solid immovable mass. At this point a pick-axe and sledge hammer becomes more effective than a shovel. Many of these folks will likely forgo clearing their mailbox for the remainder of the winter. When the mail carrier cannot reach the mailbox, the homeowner is suddenly faced with an irritating dilemma. Do they drive to the post office daily or struggle with clearing the mailbox? Suddenly ignoring the mailbox for a day seemed like the wrong way to prioritize. Fortunately there is one company that can help alleviate a bit of this is; Mainely Metals. The company features an arm and post assembly that hangs out over the snow bank and swings to help avoid damage. They are also located in Maine.
Fortunately spring is just around the corner. Had this mess hit the area in November or even December, it would have been a very long winter for many mailbox owners indeed.
The government immediately erected several "warming stations" around the area. These were school gyms or other public buildings where people without power could go to get warm. Some even offered food and a cot to sleep on. Since then, several full blown shelters have opened. Fortunately most people who live in this region have alternative ways to heat their home. Some use wood stoves, kerosene heaters, or have generators. Cold temperatures can quickly cause pipes to burst and a variety of other problems.
Shoveling-out, as the locals like to call it, was messy, back-breaking and time consuming. Each shovel of snow insisted on staying glued to the shovel with every throw. Each toss felt like a short bungee cord yanking it back, rendering the frequent effect of pulling the unsuspecting shovel operator off balance and into the snow bank. The only way to un-stick the snow from the shovel was to bang it hard on the ground.
Many people made the mistake of waiting a day or two before clearing the snow from their mailbox. It´s hard to blame them though because many were very sore from clearing their roofs, driveways and walkways. At the time, the mailbox seemed like the lowest of priorities. Unfortunately the temperature dropped well below freezing the next day making the snow bank rock hard. Snow around a mailbox is already extremely hard-packed because of the snowplow. In this case, the problem was amplified because the snow had so much water trapped inside that the banks froze into a solid immovable mass. At this point a pick-axe and sledge hammer becomes more effective than a shovel. Many of these folks will likely forgo clearing their mailbox for the remainder of the winter. When the mail carrier cannot reach the mailbox, the homeowner is suddenly faced with an irritating dilemma. Do they drive to the post office daily or struggle with clearing the mailbox? Suddenly ignoring the mailbox for a day seemed like the wrong way to prioritize. Fortunately there is one company that can help alleviate a bit of this is; Mainely Metals. The company features an arm and post assembly that hangs out over the snow bank and swings to help avoid damage. They are also located in Maine.
Fortunately spring is just around the corner. Had this mess hit the area in November or even December, it would have been a very long winter for many mailbox owners indeed.
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