‘Baffling’ storm drops a foot of snow on SouthCoast

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NEW BEDFORD — Winter arrived fashionably late Saturday, bearing a house gift of a foot of snow in Fairhaven and Dartmouth, and turning city streets into a demolition derby with traffic accidents reported every couple of minutes all afternoon long.

Yet as of early evening no serious crashes had been reported anywhere in SouthCoast. There were some spinouts, a multiple car crash on I-195 eastbound at the start of the storm, and a tractor-trailer off in the ditch at the narrows in Fall River. But for the most part traffic kept moving, even if very slowly in the whiteouts.

The storm totals surprised everybody. Forecasters had predicted three to six inches for the SouthCoast, less in greater Boston. But weather spotter M.L. Baron said the storm took a more southerly track, keeping warmer air from coming in and allowing a cold snowfall of light flakes that accumulated quickly.

He called the storm “baffling,” because the barometric pressure stayed high and there was virtually no wind for most of the day. And a foot of accumulation, he said, didn’t occur last winter despite the season total.

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As the temperatures slowly rose through the 20s during the afternoon, Baron said that an 8.5 inch total on West Island became 12 inches two hours later, tops for the region apart from an observer in North Dartmouth, who also measured 12.5 inches plus drifting.

Fall River clocked in at 10 inches, Mattapoisett at 12, Acushnet at 11, and New Bedford at 12, according to readings posted by the National Weather Service. Other towns reported lesser amounts, and totals varied greatly over short distances. but in general SouthCoast and South County in Rhode Island bore the brunt of what Baron called a “mini-nor’easter.”

“It’s double what we expected,” Baron said. “Talk about a rabbit being pulled out of a hat. But we’re still in a deficit. Last year at this time we had 19 inches of snowfall.”

Mayor Jon Mitchell monitored the snow removal efforts first-hand during the day. He said that while the sanding and plowing efforts went well (more than 100 vehicles), the crews were hampered by parked cars.

The parking ban, Mitchell explained, seems to have to be relearned every year. “During the first storm it’s always like this.” Many cars — he didn’t have a number — were ticketed or towed to get them out of the way of snowplows.

The emphasis overnight, he said, would be to wrap up the plowing and sanding, open up culverts for drainage, and wait for the return of springlike weather that Mitchell noted has been forecast for the coming week.

The parking ban is lifted as of 8 a.m. today, Mitchell said.

The storm’s timing was fortunate for most. Schools weren’t in session, and so there was no cancelled day to make up and no students to bus home in a hurry. Working parents were mostly at home to take care of the kids unless they worked in retail, where the day was a slow one.

Downtown, the streets weren’t quite deserted, although it was possible, and perhaps even preferable given the walking conditions, to walk up the middle of William Street.

It was a good day for snowplow drivers and contractors hired to clear sidewalks and parking lots. Scott Dias, who works for a firm run by James Furtado, had the Verizon sidewalk down to pavement in mid-afternoon. A half-dozen men with snowplows and shovels kept Purchase Street open for the few shoppers who ventured out.

But it was a slow day, and some shops and restaurants closed early, as did the health clinic on Purchase Street. Joey Andrade, manager of No Problemo, said it was decided to keep the Mexican restaurant open to accommodate their local customers who might venture out, and as a kind of promise to be there in the future when the weather closes in.

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