ATTACK OF THE WHITE STUFF
Storm buries Steuben
By ROB MONTANA EVENING TRIBUNE and ROB PRICE THE COURIER-ADVOCATE

In top photo, William Van Housen, custodian of Centenary Methodist Church in Bath, digs out after Wednesday's snow storm. Above, a bicycle appears half-devoured by shoveled snow on West Steuben Street.

Steuben County got the worst of a storm that swept through the region Tuesday night and Wednesday, with between 15-20 inches of snow dumped on area towns.

Schools in the tri-county area were closed Wednesday, and many Steuben County schools were closed again Thursday, including Haverling, Hornell, Bradford, Avoca, Campbell-Savona, Ham-mondsport, Prattsburgh and Addison.

In Bath Police Chief David Rouse banned parking on all streets and rights of way in order to facilitate the movement of emergency vehicles.

"No warnings will be issued," Rouse said in a prepared released that warned vehicles in violation of the order would be towed.

"We are obviously still cleaning out," Mike Sprague, Steuben County Emergency Services director, said Thursday. "This was a major winter snowstorm, one of those they thought was going somewhere else, but it turned left and got us instead."

PHOTOS BY ROB PRICE

Sprague advised motorists to use caution, not only on the major highways where icy conditions are developing due to temperatures hovering around zero, but also in neighborhoods, where high piles of snow make it difficult for drivers to see.

"We're seeing a condition we haven't seen in years - high snowbanks near driveways and turnout areas," he said. "Drivers are having difficulty when they pull out, so they need to use extra caution.

"If you can't see, don't take a chance and zoom out, ease out," Sprague added. "I'm expecting we're going to see a bunch of accidents related to that."

He noted there were several accidents on the expressways Wednesday morning due to slippery road conditions.

The region will get a reprieve from the snowfall, however, as Brian Lovejoy, Binghamtonbased National Weather Service meteorologist, said the precipitation appears finished.

"It's done, it's gone," he said this morning.

Lovejoy said storm totals vary from 10 inches reported in Howard to 21 inches reported for Bath. Other totals Lovejoy reported included 20 inches in Troupsburg, 18.5 in Avoca, 16.5 in Hornell and 14 inches in Wayland.

PHOTO BY LYNNE BRENNAN/THE EVENING TRIBUNE Plowed snow buries a car in an area shopping plaza. County residents at week's end continued digging out from under Wednesday's snow storm.

Temperatures are still going to be low, Lovejoy said.

"It's still going to be below normal," he said, adding winds will be less than the 35 miles per hour predicted Wednesday. "They're basically going to be around 10-20 miles per hour today and tomorrow."

Steuben and Livingston counties both issued travel advisories Wednesday - Allegany County did not - but those were lifted by Thursday. Livingston County fared better than Steuben in terms of snowfall. According to Kevin Neidermaier, Livingston County Emergency Management Services director, the county had an average of about a foot of snow.

"Some areas will be less, some will be more," he said. "I don't think we got the accumulation that was predicted."

John Tucker, Allegany County Emergency Services director, said his county had snowfall totals in the eight inches to one foot range.

"We did all right, we didn't have any major problems of any type," he said. "One of the saving graces we had was we had minimal snow to begin with.

"We're always concerned about secondary events, such as utilities interrupted, health care concerns and house fires, but we didn't get any reports of anything of any major magnitude," Tucker added. "The other saving grace was it was a shortterm event, just a day-and-ahalf. If it were a multiple-day event like in Oswego, we'd be in worse shape than we are now."