A spring nor'easter dumped up to 2 inches of wet, slushy snow on the Tri-Lakes area early today, delaying the opening of schools, slowing the morning commute and causing at least one minor crash.
All of the local school districts delayed the start of school: The Tupper Lake and Lake Placid central school districts had one-hour delays, and Saranac Lake and Keene had two-hour delays.
Saranac Lake Central School District Superintendent Gerald Goldman said most people put away their shovels and plows after a stretch of warm weather, so they aren't as prepared to deal with snowy mornings now as they were in February.
Article Photos
A woman fishes on the West Branch of the AuSable River Sunday morning after snow fell earlier in the day.
(Enterprise photo — Mike Lynch)
"I think a lot of us were sort of thinking we were done with this," Goldman said. "It just gives people a little extra time."
Both local colleges had classes running on regular schedules, though a worker at North Country Community College said sometimes individual teachers will cancel classes, depending on where they live.
Ray Brook-based state police said the slippery conditions caused a pickup truck to veer off the road on Haymeadow Drive in Tupper Lake, but no injuries were reported.
A tree fell across state Route 86 in Lake Placid just after 6 a.m. this morning, blocking traffic until it was removed by members of the Lake Placid Volunteer Fire Department.
In Saranac Lake, police and firefighters had no calls related to the snow, which blanketed the village's bright-yellow daffodil beds less than a week before the start of the second-annual Daffest celebration. While there was barely enough snow to cover the grass, John Dimon was cross-country skiing through Riverside Park this morning. He said he wanted to get some exercise in before starting his shift at Nori's Village Market.
Elsewhere, up to 6 inches of snow fell east of Lake Ontario, and parts of western New York could see more than a foot of snow before the late-season storm moves on.
Rain in the Buffalo area was changing to snow, with 5 to 9 inches expected through 7 a.m. Tuesday. Up to 16 inches are possible in higher elevations south of Buffalo through Tuesday morning.
In Cortland County in central New York, authorities said county roads are snow covered and slippery, and they urged drivers not to head out unless absolutely necessary.
National Weather Service meteorologist Jeff Wood said 6 inches of snow fell by daybreak today in the higher terrain of Tug Hill, just southeast of Watertown. He says the snow was to change to rain there later this morning.
Winds and heavy precipitation brought scattered outages around the state. NYSEG reported more than 12,000 customers without power, with many in the Southern Tier.
Flood watches were up around eastern New York after heavy rain overnight.