First major snowstorm of the 2019–2020 season hammers Warwick
Warwick. Ice and heavy snow fells tree limbs causing 1,400 power outages reported as of Tuesday
| 04 Dec 2019 | 11:29
A scene along State School Road. (
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The scene at Baird Farm and the Wawayanda Creek. (
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Winter is blue. (
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Rocco Silvis creates his own shelter from the storm. (
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O&R worker restoring power to Warwick customers. (
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Official winter was still a few weeks away but the first major snowstorm of the season began on Sunday, Dec. 1, with a mixture of snow, sleet and freezing rain
That dangerous road condition was followed by heavy wet snow that the slow moving storm deposited at a rate of one to two inches per hour until Tuesday at 2 a.m.
Coming shortly after the Thanksgiving Day holiday weekend, it turned into a six-day holiday for local schools and a nightmare for travelers, residents and commuters.
The National Weather Service had accurately predicted mixed precipitation and total accumulations of five to 11 inches in the higher elevations.
Mike Donovan, spokesperson for Orange and Rockland Utilities, explained that the heavy ice and snow had caused numerous downed tree limbs and power lines resulting in 1,400 power outages in the Town of Warwick.
O&R repair crews also had safety concerns.
“We’re out there trying to restore power as quickly as possible,” said Donovan, “But with the trees and downed power lines blocking some of the roads there are safety concerns and it’s slowing us down.”
A press release issued on Tuesday by O&R stated, “Last night crews were pulled back from areas in Warwick, Greenwood Lake and Tuxedo due to extremely dangerous working conditions caused by falling trees and tree limbs. That danger continues to exist in parts of Warwick today, and is limiting repair crews’ access to certain damage locations.”
On Tuesday evening Town of Warwick Supervisor Michael Sweeton reported that his DPW crews had worked around the clock from 11 a.m. on Sunday until 2 a.m. Tuesday, when they were told to go home and get some rest.
They also had concerns about the hazardous downed power lines and would have to wait and coordinate clearing some roads with the O&R crews.
“Almost all the roads are open,” said Sweeton. “Our DPW crews did a wonderful job.”
The Warwick Police reported that there were no serious accidents but numerous fender benders and vehicles loosing traction or skidding off road.
Safety checklist
To help its customers prepare to weather a storm, O&R offers these tips:
For safety’s sake, don’t touch or approach any downed wire. Assume it is energized and dangerous. Call O&R immediately toll-free 1-877-434-4100. Depending on the situation, you may also want to call your local police to divert traffic until an O&R crew arrives.
Maintain a distance of at least 50 feet from downed wires and anything they are in contact with including puddles of water and fences.
Supervise your children so that they are not in the vicinity and keep pets on a leash or otherwise secure.
If a fallen wire is draped over a car, do not approach the car and make rescue attempts. Remain a safe distance away and try to keep the occupant of the vehicle calm. If possible, emergency personnel should handle the situation.
Pole-top transformers - those small grey-colored metal drums attached to the wires at the tops of most utility poles - also should be avoided when they have been knocked to the ground.
Portable generators pose a serious hazard if used improperly. They should be used and installed according to the manufacturer’s instructions. A wrong connection could feed electricity back through the lines and endanger our repair crews. Never plug a generator into a wall unit, use it indoors or set it up outdoors near open home windows or air-handling vents.
Have emergency equipment within reach - portable radio, flashlights, spare batteries, first aid kit, cell phone and important medications. Keep O&R’s toll-free number 1-877-434-4100 near the phone to report power outages.
Remember: if the base station of your cordless phone plugs into the wall, your phone will be unusable during a power outage.