First blast of winter weather hits the region

MILLERTON — The village of Millerton got its one minute of fame, thanks to the nor’easter that blew through town on Wednesday and Thursday, Dec 16 and 17. Meteorologist Janice Huff of NBC’s Channel 4 out of New York City reported on Thursday that the beast dumped 23 inches of snow on the village, second to Hopewell Junction, with the top number of 25-plus inches.

The amount, verified by a weather map of the National Weather Service for the State of New York, prompted  Governor Andrew Cuomo to declare a State of Emergency for 18 counties, including Dutchess. 

Speed limits were lowered throughout the Empire State and speed and various travel restrictions were imposed, including on tractor trailers. 

Locally, the storm led to long, late and cold hours with miles of clearing provided by heroic crews under the direction of  North East Highway Superintendent Robert Stevens and Millerton Highway Supervisor Coleman Lawrence. 

While area residents slept, the experts battled a steady snowfall of approximately 2 inches per hour, with occasional heavy winds complicating the process.

Others pros dealt with the depths off road. Arthur Tanner III, who first began clearing properties with his now-retired father, Art Tanner Jr., has been at it “for way too long,” he said. 

“I’m not one of those guys who goes out with a tape measure, but I know it was a heap of snow,” he said. “That’s all I think of.”

Tanner added that considering the enormous amount of snowfall, things could have been worse.

“But it was nice plowing light snow,” he said. “It came off really easily, and the ground was frozen so didn’t rip it up too much.” 

Tanner knew people were prepared for the worst with snow shovels and generators, but he was pleased the area was spared the heavy sort of snow that can develop in the spring and cause havoc with trees, downed wires and power outages.

Although the snow, which Tanner estimated to be more than he has dealt with over the past two years, cleared throughout Thursday, much of the storm’s aftermath continued for days more. 

“I was working for three days on roofs and making paths around houses in case someone needed to get in there for an emergency,” he said.

North East resident John Brunese said he had been out cleaning up for nearly half a day following the Nor’easter, and had about 14 inches of snow at his home, despite the numbers calculated by meteorologist Huff.

“[I had] heard about 23 inches in Millerton,” he said, noting Winchell Mountain reportedly got hit with high totals. “The ski resorts must be very happy.

“It was very big, very early into winter and it will certainly take considerable rain or warm temps or both to see it all go away,” he continued, adding the highway workers who help clear the roadways for the town and village provide an essential service for local residents and businesses — especially important as everyone is dealing with the pandemic. “As for the town crew, under all that’s going on, I think they have done a great job keeping up; it’s a lot of man hours for them to get it all done.”

Brunese concluded with a thought that many residents who were out there with their shovels and snowblowers likely had on their minds, as it’s only the end of December and there are many long months of the season left to contend with.

 “It’s going to be long winter,” he said.