The big storm that hit Tuesday and continues today brought great packing snow and a day off from school for most area kids.
That added up to a lot of snowmen.
If you build a snowman, take a picture with you and your creation. Load it directly into the weather gallery on the home page of our Web site: www.pressrepublican.com. Click on the gallery and follow the directions.
Or, if you wish, simply e-mail your photo to news@pressrepublican.com. We'll post it in the photo gallery.
PLATTSBURGH — Now, that's more like it.
The North Country winter had been looking very unwinter-like in the last few weeks, but a storm that hit overnight Tuesday had draped the area in snow by Wednesday morning.
Most areas schools closed, power went out in many communities, and cars skidded off the roads.
But skiers, school kids and plow-business operators had big smiles on their faces.
CHEERS AT WHITEFACE
Pow, pow, pow — that's what skiers at Whiteface Mountain in Wilmington cheered, singing on trails with 10 inches of new snow and more falling from a seamless winter sky.
Bridgit Hinman, mountain spokeswoman, found exuberance was abundant among skiers loading at the Gondola.
"Oh my God, it's perfect today," 12-year-old Michael Sahui told the Press-Republican. "It's just light and soft, I love it. I'm riding today. It's just so nice. Mountain Run is just a beautiful trail right now."
"This is awesome," Hinman said. "We're at 74 trails right now. We may have some glades opening. We were laughing, saying this will be perfect for all the celebrations ahead with our Olympians coming home. It's like Mother Nature's gift."
POWER OUTAGES
The heavy, wet snow knocked out power to many communities in Clinton, Essex and Franklin counties.
As of Wednesday afternoon, New York State Electric & Gas reported 1,600 outages in 27 towns across the three counties.
NYSEG had to restore power in Altona, AuSable Forks, Cadyville, Chazy, Elizabethtown, Essex, Jay, Keene, Keeseville, Lewis, Mineville, Morrisonville, New Russia, Newcomb, Peru, Plattsburgh, Redford, Saranac, Schuyler Falls, Upper Jay, West Chazy, Westport, Whallonsburg, Willsboro, Wilmington and Witherbee. All power was expected to be restored by today.
National Grid had 1,325 reported outages in Essex County, spreading from Westport and Crown Point to Ticonderoga and Schroon Lake.
The company also recorded 344 reported outages in Franklin County, mostly in Malone, West Bangor, Brushton and Paul Smiths.
In Clinton County, 16 National Grid outages were reported in AuSable Forks.
Sections of the City of Plattsburgh lost power at about 4:30 a.m., Municipal Lighting Department Manager Bill Treacy said. Heavy snow caused tree limbs to fall onto power lines, he said, knocking out electricity to about 25 customers living on or near Jerry Drive, Autumn Drive and Prospect Avenue. Treacy said power was restored by 7 a.m.
ACCIDENTS
A tractor-trailer driver was not hurt when he flipped a full load of sheet rock into a ditch off U.S. Route 11 near Connell Road in the Town of Moira this morning.
Christopher Kelly of TLC of Des Moines, Iowa, is expected to be ticketed for failure to reduce speed for a special hazard, Malone-based State Police said.
Kelly was driving east, came down a small hill and reportedly lost control of the rig on a curve. The vehicle slid to the south side of the roadway and overturned onto its roof, crushing the sheet rock underneath.
Moira Fire Chief Brian Davey said his volunteers were able to quickly prevent escaping fuel from leaking into the ditch.
However, as a precaution, the Franklin County Hazardous Materials team and the State Department of Environmental Conservation were called in to assess the spill.
A tow truck from Lauzon's Auto Tech in Malone righted the tractor trailer, and Franklin County Fire Police directed traffic around the wreckage for several hours.
Numerous other accidents were reported around the North Country, but none appeared to involve serious injuries.
CLEARING THE WAY
About four miles away, Robert C. Fitzsimmons had his hands full during the snowstorm, too.
He had to shovel a path to get to his newspaper tube because about four inches of snow had already fallen overnight at his home at 1017 Route 11.
"As a rule, I keep the driveway clean. I usually scrape with a snow blower. But this is so heavy, I have to shovel it."
He and his wife, Kathleen, are fully prepared to wait out the storm, which is expected to last well into Friday.
"We pretty much have everything, in case anything happens," Mr. Fitzsimmons said. "And my boy may come by later and plow us out.
"It's real heavy, and when it's heavy like that and stays on the trees and the wires, it's going to start bringing them down. We don't need this. We've had enough."
Moriah resident Jeff Farnsworth was shoveling snow outside Aubuchon Hardware in Port Henry this morning.
He said that while many previous storms just missed the county, "we weren't left out this time. I had 13 inches at my house this morning at 7 a.m."
He said the storm's mixture of snow and rain left a slippery mess on roads and sidewalks.
CLOSURES
Most area schools closed, although Malone, Brushton, Chateaugay, Tupper Lake, Saranac Lake and Lake Placid remained open, with just two or three on the ground as the sun rose.
In the valleys, it was a different story. Thousands of students were excused for a snow day, and their Facebook walls lit up with a virtual cheer: No school!
North Country Community College in Saranac Lake called off classes. Clinton Community College and Plattsburgh State were in session most of the day, but at about 1:45 p.m., Plattsburgh announced that any classes starting at 4 p.m. or later were canceled.
LOOKING AHEAD
According to the National Weather Service in Burlington, by 1 p.m., Moriah had been pounded by 15 inches of snow, Plattsburgh residents were coping with 11 inches, Newcomb had about 6 inches, and the Malone area was on the light side with 2 inches.
Weather Service Meteorologist Brooke Taber said a strong gradient swept across the northern region, pummeling the area from west to east.
Despite the latest storm, Taber said, the North Country has had a relatively mild winter, as far as snowfall, so far.
"It's been below normal, much less than previous years."
— Staff Writers Michelle Besaw, Kim Smith Dedam, Lohr McKinstry, Denise Raymo and Andrea VanValkenburg and News Editor Lois Clermont contributed to this report.
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