Whiteout conditions

No major incidents reported as storm buries Cranston in snow

Daniel Kittredge
Posted 1/28/15

What had been a quiet winter has packed a major wallop.

Winter Storm Juno descended on the Ocean State this week, bringing extended periods of blizzard conditions, shutting down businesses and …

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Whiteout conditions

No major incidents reported as storm buries Cranston in snow

Posted

What had been a quiet winter has packed a major wallop.

Winter Storm Juno descended on the Ocean State this week, bringing extended periods of blizzard conditions, shutting down businesses and schools, and closing roadways to traffic.

The National Weather Service kept its blizzard warning in effect for the area through 8 p.m. Tuesday, and continued to call the storm a “serious, life-threatening” event. A traffic ban put into effect at midnight on Tuesday continued throughout the day.

On Tuesday afternoon, Mayor Allan Fung said Cranston had been “very fortunate,” with no major incidents reported. He said reports of power outages were “minimal.”

Fung said the city was utilizing approximately 150 pieces of equipment, including private plows and municipal vehicles, as work continued to clear roadways.

He asked residents to honor the parking and travel bans and to be patient, given the taxing conditions facing drivers and the obstacles that weather conditions – particularly strong winds – continued to present.

“Our guys have been going since 8 o’clock last night … we’ve got to get them some rest,” he said Tuesday afternoon. “Stay off the roads so they can give our crews the ability to do what they need to do.”

Cranston schools were closed Tuesday and Wednesday, as were the Cranston Public Library and the Cranston Senior Enrichment Center. The City Council delayed its monthly meeting from Monday night to 7 p.m. Thursday at City Hall.

Trash and recycling pickup was also impacted. Pickup was canceled for Tuesday and Wednesday, and those routes will not be picked up this week. Regular service resumes Thursday.

On next week’s Tuesday and Wednesday routes, Waste Management will pick up all trash left at curbside, including overflow trash. Residents are asked to place any overflow waste in bags next to the standard trash carts.

Wind gusts of 60 miles per hour created large snow drifts and led to uneven accumulation totals, with the area set to receive a total of 15 to 25 inches – and up to 30 inches in isolated areas – in all. Officials on Tuesday had anticipated the conditions gradually easing up over the afternoon and nighttime hours, with the storm completely moving out by Wednesday morning.

On Monday and Tuesday, Gov. Gina Raimondo held several press updates at the Rhode Island Emergency Management Agency headquarters on New London Avenue in Cranston. Shortly before noon on Tuesday, she appeared alongside Lt. Gov. Dan McKee, State Police Col. Steven O’Donnell, Emergency Management Director Peter Gaynor and National Guard Gen. Kevin McBride.

The governor said there had been no accidents reported since the travel ban was instituted at midnight Tuesday,

“The travel ban has been extremely successful,” she said. Thank you to the people of Rhode Island for hunkering down.”

Raimondo said on Tuesday morning, National Grid had reported just more than 1,000 power outages statewide. That figure was set to drop to roughly 300 by early that afternoon.

The governor also said officials “won’t even think about lifting [the travel ban] until we see conditions improving.” She was set to again address the media later Tuesday evening.

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