We can only assume if you’re holding this copy of the Insider that you survived the Blizzard of 2015, or as we heard it referred to that one time, Snowmageddon 2015 – which has a rather nice ring to it.
But we’re really not surprised. Not the fact that you’re reading this, because we like to think that everyone within 20 miles of the city patiently waits each week for the latest edition, but rather that you made it through a winter storm that included mageddon in its title. The storm was billed as the biggest in recent years and maybe the most snow since the Blizzard of 78. Well, if that blizzard was a living thing, it would laugh in the face of what happened last week – something we like to call a snowstorm.
The forecast called for 18 to 24 inches in the Granite State capital, with the possibility of 30-plus. While some places in N.H. saw more than two feet, Concord wasn’t one of them. From our snow sources, we confirmed anywhere from 10 to 13 inches fell in the city, so about half of what was expected. Of course, if we were half right all the time, some may call that an improvement.
“We never really got into one of those heavy bands, so at the rate it came down we were able to keep up,” said Concord’s highway and utilities superintendent Jim Major.
So we guess the only thing special about making it through the storm is that you got one of the thousands of copies of the Insider. Hurrah.
But regardless of the amount, the city’s snow removal team was still out in full force for the duration of the storm – and then some. The crew gathered around 11 p.m. on Monday, which was when the storm was expected to begin its devastating wrath, and began pre-treating the city roads. When the snow started flying between 2 and 3 a.m., you better believe the plows and sanders were out in full force – like 60 people kind of full force. That group spent 16 hours battling the storm, and thankfully that’s really all they had to deal with.
“It was a major league help that people weren’t on the roads,” Major said. “It makes us way more efficient.”
Basically that’s a big thank you to all of you for listening and staying home for the day in your cozy footed pajamas and drinking hot cocoa.
And the lesser amount definitely helped spread the plowing wealth.
“When you get up to 18 to 24 inches, you can really just focus on the main roads,” Major said. “But the residential streets are the ones people are getting in and out of.”
The swing crew, made up of about 45 city employees, came in from 3 to 11 p.m. on Tuesday and kept the snow removal train chugging along. By the end of that shift the snow was done, but there was plenty of cleanup left to be done. So those 60 workers who had already put in a double day of work were back to make sure the roads were in good shape for Wednesday morning’s commute.
“You have to get out there and do the same thing, whether it’s two inches or 24 inches,” Major said.
The downtown area was scraped, piled and hauled away Wednesday night, although a mishap between a dump truck and some power lines near the snow dumping station on Langdon Avenue forced a change of plans mid operation to a second dumping spot on Fort Eddy Road.
The rest of the city sidewalks are always a work in progress. The major school routes were taken care of early on, but it’s the many side streets and sidewalks that slowly get pecked away at. So if there’s still snow cramping your street or almost a foot on your morning walk route, they will get to it – eventually.
“They will be an ongoing challenge,” Major said. “We’ll be pretty busy for the next couple weeks, but that’s what we’re here for.”
It takes time to get things in order and even more of it if we get storms one after another, like the few inches we got on Friday.
So the next time you see a plow, sander or sidewalk clearer thingy give them a friendly wave and the space to work. They certainly deserve both after saving us from Snowmageddon.
