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Press-Journal Photo/ Debra Schell
Is it over yet?
Who says it never snows anymore?
by Jim Lewis and Debra Schell
Press And Journal Staff
: 2/10/2010
MORE PHOTOS AT LINK ON BOTTOM OF PAGE
Call it Snowmageddon, or Snowzilla, or Snowapalooza — or just a heck of a lot of snow.
It was a monster of a winter storm that buried Middletown and much of central Pennsylvania on Friday, Feb. 5 and Saturday, Feb. 6, that’s for sure.
The powerful storm dumped more than 17 inches of snow on Middletown and Harrisburg International Airport, the National Weather Service reported.
Middletown, Highspire, Steelton and Lower Swatara Twp. declared snow emergencies, limiting driving on local roads to “essential travel’’ only.
Gov. Ed Rendell declared a statewide emergency and enlisted the Pennsylvania National Guard to help the state plow snow. More than 2 feet fell on some parts of Pennsylvania.
In Middletown, businesses closed on Saturday, surrendering to the storm in the face of mounting snow. Flights were cancelled Saturday at HIA, though the airport remained open.
Crews worked around the clock Saturday plowing local roads in an attempt to fight back against the storm. With two major snows already this winter, and a third forecast by the NWS for Tuesday, Feb. 9, plowing promised to be a major expense for local municipalities this year.
“You do what you got to do,’’ said Ron Paul, manager of Lower Swatara Twp., where crews toiled from 6 p.m. Friday to 9 p.m. Saturday to plow roads. “You have to do the job to provide safety to the community. If it means something later in the year has to be cut back, it will have to be cut back.’’
Crews in Middletown worked all night Friday and well into Saturday, treating icy intersections late Saturday after the sun went down, said Police Chief Keith Reismiller, the borough’s acting manager.
At times the snow was so heavy that crews seemed to be “fighting a losing battle,’’ but they kept plowing, said Reismiller.
“You can’t please everybody, but I think they did a pretty good job for the amount of snow we had,’’ he said.
In Highspire, full- and part-time road crew workers cleared borough streets, and residents moved cars off snow emergency routes for plowing, said Mayor John Hoerner.
Karns on South Union Street closed at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, while the Middletown Area Arts Collective cancelled its Saturday night Union Street Blues Club. An announcement by the arts collective on its Facebook page wished patrons safety during the storm.
Giant in the Midtown Plaza remained open, while a sign in the window of the Dollar Store announced, “Yes, we are open!’’ to those brave enough to venture out.
Of course, you had to dig out your car to get anywhere, a task that some residents still hadn’t performed by Monday.
Locally, Elizabethtown saw 21 inches of snow, Mechanicsburg saw 22.5 and Hershey, 15, said the NWS.
Snow still covered many local roads by Sunday, but that didn’t stop people from driving on Sunday.
A Super Bowl party at Sunset Golf Course’s clubhouse in Londonderry Twp. drew 42 people, perhaps lured by $1 draughts of beer and a $10 all-you-can-eat buffet as well as the championship game between the New Orleans Saints and Indianapolis Colts.
“Not a bad turnout, considering all the snow,’’ said Michael Johnson, the clubhouse manager.
Despite blowing snow and blizzard-like conditions, Middletown saw no major accidents, and few arguments over ownership of shoveled-out parking spaces, said Reismiller.
“All in all, everybody kind of took it in stride,’’ he said.
Jim Lewis: 717-944-4628, or jimlewis@pressandjournal.com.
For more photos of the storm click here
Photos from Feb. 10 Snow Storm click here
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