It appears the Oxford/Addison area weathered its first major snowstorm this winter without any significant problems based on reports from local officials.
‘Knock on wood, so far, so good,? said Oxford Fire Chief Pete Scholz.
Somewhere around a foot of the white stuff fell at a steady pace for about 28 hours between Sunday, Feb. 1 and Monday, Feb. 2.
Gusty winds created large snow drifts that made it difficult to get good measurements.
‘I had a snow drift in my driveway that was two-and-a-half feet deep, but (I) had another part (where) I could see concrete,? said Don Brantley, superintendent of the Oxford Village Department of Public Works (DPW).
The National Weather Service website reported snowfall measurements of 14 inches in Lakeville and 15 inches at a location 2 miles southeast of Leonard.
In Lapeer, 11.9 and 12.3 inches were reported, while 11 inches was measured 2 miles south of Ortonville and 9.5 inches in Clarkston.
On Monday morning, both Scholz and Addison Fire Chief Jerry Morawski reported no weather-related incidents or emergencies occurred because of the storm.
‘There’s been nothing really to speak of,? Morawski said. ‘It’s actually been kind of quiet.?
Morawksi noted the department normally has two firefighters on duty, but because of the storm, four were scheduled for both Sunday and Monday, just in case the extra manpower was needed.
Oakland County Sheriff’s Lt. Scott Patterson, commander of the Oxford substation, also had no major snow-related incidents to report. He said there were some instances of vehicles getting stuck in turnarounds and sliding off the roadway due to weather conditions.
‘Basic stuff, nothing that pops out,? he said. ‘I think a lot of people were just staying off the roads. I know Meijer was hit pretty hard when I went on Saturday. Everybody was plowing in there, getting supplies.?
County-wide, the sheriff’s office reported due to the storm, its officers responded to 30 property damage accidents, three personal injury accidents, 31 road runoffs and 56 motorist assists.
It appears the storm didn’t deprive anyone locally of light and heat. DTE Energy’s on-line map showed zero power outages Monday in Oxford and Addison townships.
The snow’s consistency was dry and powdery, which is good for skiing and sledding, but bad for building snowmen and making snowballs because it won’t pack.
‘This has been a nice light snow,? Brantley said. ‘It’s because the temperatures were so cold ? that was to our advantage.?
The light snow was definitely to the advantage of DPW employees who spent hours clearing the municipality’s streets, parking lots and sidewalks.
‘For as much snow as we got, it was an easy push,? Brantley said. ‘If it would have been a wet, heavy snow, it would have been a whole ‘nother animal.?
Brantley noted the only problem was the wind. ‘When you push (the snow), it wants to blow right off your blade into your windshield,? he said.
DPW workers attacked the storm for two-and-a-half hours Sunday morning, took a break, then worked from 5-10 p.m.
They resumed work at 2 a.m. Monday morning in order to clear municipal parking lots, work on dead-end streets, clean up intersections and clear sidewalks around village-owned properties, according to Brantley.
‘We opened (the sidewalks) up once yesterday, but we’ve got to do it again today,? he said on Monday morning.
Oxford schools were closed on Monday due to the weather and again on Tuesday because of road conditions.