ESSEX JUNCTION, Vt. -
Another blast of winter is on the way, but area residents have mixed feelings.
"I'm sick of it. I'm done," said Mark Audette of Essex Junction.
"Just looking forward to it," said Todd Seymour of Duxbury. "Keep winter coming. It's good for business."
Like it or not, a snowstorm is coming. This is a stark contrast to the record warmth we saw just one year ago. Last year at this time temperatures were up around 80 degrees and it's hard to believe that many area residents were thinking about putting some grass seed on their lawns. This year we have a pretty big snowstorm coming in. That grass will get covered in plenty of snow and putting away the sleds may be premature.
The weather extremes have some folks reflecting on what they were doing last March. "I was probably raking my backyard, getting ready, getting that itch," said Audette, in the midst of some last minute shopping at the hardware store.
Reporter Nick Borelli: And now instead your getting the snow shovels back out, right?
Mark Audette: I'm here to get shear pins for my snowblower.
While Audette is ready for the storm, others may wait a bit longer. "Everyone is getting their shovels in the sheds, getting the soil out and getting ready for spring, so it's gonna be a mad rush to prepare for this last storm," said Aubuchon Hardware's Eric Leighton.
VTrans' Art Danyo said workers are prepared for the storm and equipment is ready to go. Many area roads have also been pre-treated with brine and the interstate will be pre-treated again.
"We did most of the secondaries yesterday and the interstate, but we're just adding a little more reassurance on the interstate," he said.
VTrans will be sending out trucks by 2-4 a.m. on Tuesday morning. They will use all 43 of them in the district and plan to lay down more than 1,000 tons of brine product by Wednesday night. This comes at a cost of at least $200,000. Even with these measures, the roads will likely become slippery. "There's a good possibility that the roads will not be clear. That's just not a possibility when you're getting this much snow," Danyo said.
This means it's a good idea to avoid unnecessary travel. And if you must drive, give yourself plenty of extra time and take it easy on the roadways. And remember our area is no stranger to big winter storms, so we just have to roll with the punches. "You take what you get, you know what I mean. Mother Nature gives you it and you take it," Todd Seymour said.
