Phone: 315.822.6764
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 22, 2017
email: geneandmary@westwinfieldstar.com
PO Box 6, West Winfield NY 13491 Items submitted for publication must be in before 9 AM on Monday
VOLUME 131 - NUMBER 12
75¢
Serving:
THE WEST
WINFIELD
USPS #677-080
& BROOKFIELD COURIER
Bridgewater, Brookfield, Cassville, Cedar Lake, Cedarville, Clayville, Columbia, East Winfield, Leonardsville, Litchfield, Millers Mills, Plainfield, Sauquoit, Unadilla Forks, West Edmeston, West Exeter, West Winfield
YOUR COMMUNITY NEWSPAPER FOR 131 YEARS WEST WINFIELD, NY
A storm called Stella visited Central New York on Tuesday, March 14, 2017. It only stayed about 24 hours, but managed to break almost every snowfall record in the area. The weather maps originally were advising a Winter Storm Warning, with a Blizzard Warning to the east of us. Accumulation was predicted for between 18 to 24 inches. In fact, a few forecast’s stated “No significant snowfall expected” and “this is not blizzard criteria”. So, when it started to snow in the early morning hours Tuesday, most people went about their business as usual. People headed to work figuring there was not much to worry about, after all it was just a “warning”. That all changed quickly as the day wore on! The magnitude of this Super Nor’easter had not been seen since the Valentine’s Day storm of 2007. That storm dumped about 27” of snow in our area, with the heaviest accumulation on the ground before midnight on the 14th. This storm was dropping snow at a rate of five to six inches per hour across western Hamilton and Otsego counties and southern Herkimer country! The most accumulation “award” went to Hartwick at 48”, with West Winfield coming in at 44” and Bridgewater at 32”. Strong winds caused blizzard conditions, with zero visibility from mid-morning to late afternoon. Temperatures were in the low 20’s, making wind chills in the single digits. The snow in this area was classified as dry (not a lot of moisture) saving the area from downed trees and
power outages. A state of emergency was in effect for all of New York State and many counties closed all roads to everyone but emergency vehicles and personnel. Many area schools were closed on Tuesday AND Wednesday. And the STAR wasn’t printed until Thursday. Governor Cuomo announced a tractor trailer ban on the whole NYS Thruway starting at 9 AM on 3/14. Thanks to our superb snowplow drivers, most roads were plowed and sanded Wednesday morning. The problem for most people when cleaning out their driveways was what to do with almost 4 feet of snow and that didn’t include the drifts! Apparently, we experienced a “Weather Bomb”, in meteorological terms a bombogenesis. A process that starts with a low-pressure region (cyclogenesis), then progresses to two air masses with big temperature differences that meet and a large drop in pressure occurs. (To be classified as a weather bomb the pressure needs to drop at least 24 millibars in 24 hours). It’s really just another way to say the storm is quickly intensifying. Apparently, this phenomenon occurs in March quite frequently because of the warm air masses in the southern USA. That warm air carries ocean moisture with it. “Lucky” for us that moisture then turns to snow (or sleet and rain). There were stories aplenty of neighbors helping neighbors and strangers helping strangers. See pages 8, 9 and 10 for stories and pictures about Stella.
M A I L I N G L A B E L
Carter Deak took advantage of a day off from school to go “swimming” in the snow! He didn’t stay in the “water” long!
Local Snow Totals*
Hartwick~48” West Winfield~45” Edmeston~40” Cooperstown~36” Clinton~36” Sauquoit~35” Fly Creek~34” Cassville~34” Richfield Sprgs~33” Utica~33” Bridgewater~32” Ilion~32” *Totals from various sources; not necessarily “official”
Past Storms Snow Totals: 1966 Jan 29-Feb 01. . . 33” 1970 Dec 22-24 . . . . . . 27.8” 2007 Feb 13-14 . . . . . . 27” 1958 Feb 07-10 . . . . . . 24.6” 1971 Mar 03-05 . . . . . . 24.5” 1969 Dec 25-28 . . . . . . 24” 2002 Dec 25 . . . . . . . . 22.5 1993 Mar 13-14 . . . . . . 22” 1994 Mar 2 . . . . . . . . . 22” 2001 Mar 4-6 . . . . . . . 21.5” 1998 Feb 24-25 . . . . . . 21.2” Source: WKTV...Utica totals
Turbine #2 traveled through the area on March 9th. This picture gives you perspective on how tall it is, compared to the Masonic Temple in West Winfield.
An Afternoon Tea
An Afternoon tea catered by Michele Bodensiek and hosted by Judy VanDuren was held on February 18th. The menu consisted of cranberry cream scones, lemon tartlets, ginger shortbread dipped in chocolate, pink champagne raspberry truffles, orange glazed cardamom madeleines, traditional cucumber sandwiches, herb cheese spread on pumpernickel bread, crab salad on rye arugula, bacon and cheese straws in puff pastry. The tea was finished off with strawberry angel food cake, whipped cream icing and a cream cherry cordial. Everyone left with full stomachs and good cheer!
The band Klesis was interviewed at WGLU 106.1 FM radio station. Listen to the interview (or online at WGLULP.net):
March 22nd - 8 AM & 730 PM March 25th - 7 PM