Plymouth began recovering Tuesday following Monday’s blizzard, which dropped 30 inches of snow, causing widespread power outages, creating massive drifts, and virtually paralyzing the town.
Power was slowly being restored, with the downtown area getting up and running in the afternoon. But there was still a long way to go. Eversource reported that as of 4:37 p.m. Tuesday, 19,647 Plymouth customers were still without electricity – about 57 percent. Many isolated homes could remain in the cold and dark until the end of the week. Heavy snow combined with wind gusts of more than 60 mph wreaked havoc on power lines.
Eversource has 54 crews working to restore power across Plymouth’s many miles, said Town Manager Derek Brindisi.
“That gives us hope that over the next couple of days, we’ll start to see more and more homes come online,” Brindisi said.
But downed trees and live power lines complicated clean-up efforts by the Department of Public Works, according to a statement from a town spokesperson.
The town advises residents to report power outages to Eversource at (800) 592-2000. For non-emergencies, it said, “call the Town Snow Line at (508) 830-4162, ext. 12101, and leave a detailed message.”
As dark fell Tuesday, many side streets had yet to be plowed – essentially trapping people in their homes – and most sidewalks were impassable.
Schools, which were closed Monday and Tuesday, will remain so Wednesday.
All municipal buildings also will stay closed, and a parking ban in the downtown and North Plymouth areas is still in effect.
Further adding to the logistical challenges: Lingering snow piles from a 22-inch snowfall in late January. The town’s slow response to that storm prompted criticism from residents and business owners.
On Bradford Street in the downtown area, crews had not been able to clear snow piles from the January storm before they had to contend with this week’s snowfall, said resident Kate Sekerak. Neighbors were helping shovel each other out Tuesday.
The town asked residents to shovel sidewalks and fire hydrants, but that could prove impossible for most given the massive snow piles on sidewalks and the freezing/thawing cycle expected over the next couple of days.
“We understand that conditions remain challenging and that plowing operations can make sidewalk clearing more difficult,” town communications coordinator Casey Kennedy said in an email. “Roadways must remain the priority for public safety, and this will be an ongoing cleanup process. As crews continue their work, we respectfully ask residents to contribute when it is safe and feasible to do so to help keep our community accessible and safe for everyone.”
Although Governor Maura Healey’s ban on non-essential travel has been lifted, Select Board Chair David Golden urged residents to stay off roads unless traveling for emergencies or essential tasks such as restocking of provisions.
“We are still asking people to stay home because the more people on the roads, the harder it is for the folks in the DPW to get the roads cleared,” Golden said.
Town officials were unable to give an estimate of how many streets remain unplowed.
The American Red Cross is operating an emergency shelter at Plymouth North High School for anyone seeking to escape a chilly home. The problem, however, is that getting there is challenging for people whose homes are on unplowed public or private roads, especially in the southern part of town.
“The shelter is operating at full throttle right now,” Brindisi said, adding that 47 adults, four children, and one dog were there as of Tuesday afternoon, with another 10 people expected from Wareham.
In a statement on its website, school officials said staff had not been able to access many of the buildings to ensure their integrity.
“We still do not have a firm grasp of the state of our schools at this point,” Superintendent Christopher Campbell said in an email.
Campbell said the school system is bringing in a front-end loader to open driveways, starting from the north to the south of town, and must still coordinate with the DPW before schools can reopen.
“We hope to get back sooner than later; however, it will be contingent on what we discover over the next 24 hours,” he said.
Although Tuesday’s sunny weather allowed for a lot of progress, Wednesday’s weather isn’t expected to be as cooperative. The National Weather Service has issued a “special weather statement” for the region. It said a “quick burst of snow will overspread the region from west to east between 5 and 8 a.m. Wednesday…The snow will be short- lived and exit the coast by early afternoon, perhaps even ending as a bit of rain.”
Nonetheless, the timing is bad for commuters and up to three inches is possible.
There is some good news – temperatures are expected well above freezing later in the day.
Fred Thys can be reached at fred@plymouthindependent.org.