By: Mat Cloak
The Parsons Advocate
The first snowstorm of the season brought about six inches to most of Tucker County. Along with the snow came power outages, and a few days of skiing at White Grass.
Todd Meyers, Mon Power spokesman, regards October as a tough month for power lines. “This is about the worst time of year to get snow,” Meyers said. “Some of our biggest outages have been in late October and early November.” This is due to some trees retaining leaves into late fall, and when wet, heavy snow and ice weigh down those leaves making limbs and trunks more likely to fall.
Power lines throughout the county went down when trees were heavily weighted, and Meyers even reported five or six poles breaking. “Imagine you have a tree that falls a span of wire, and sometimes that wire is pretty strong, so it will hold the tree. And then it will snap the poles,” Meyers said.
Broken poles pose a larger problem for the power community, because of the time, labor, and equipment it takes to get a new pole installed. Meyers reported that crews from as far as Franklin and Whitehall were positioned in the area before the storm moved through.
About 1,000 customers were out of power during and after the storm.
Last week’s snowfall put the higher elevations of Tucker County right in the range of average October snowfall. The yearly average for October snowfall in Davis is six inches.
“Snow in October is not rare at all above 3,000 feet,” said Bob Leffler, also known as the Fearless Canaan Weatherman. Leffler is known for his specific expertise when it comes to snow in the area. Only five years ago, on October 30, 2012, Superstorm Sandy brought 30 inches to Tucker County.
Leffler releases complimentary forecasts that ski resorts and local residents have come to rely on. Leffler’s weather reporting background includes an undergraduate thesis on Spruce Knob’s weather and time spent working for the National Weather Service.
Getting some snow in October meant Chip Chase could open White Grass for skiing. “We had two days of pretty good skiing,” Chase said. The staff at White Grass worked hard throughout the fall to clear rocks from trails, mow open sections, and install snow fencing. This meant that the trails were ready for use this early in the season.
While the leaves remaining trees posed a problem for Mon Power, they added a nice effect to the trails at White Grass. “It was a really pretty snowfall,” Chase said. “A lot of the beech leaves fell on top of the snow.” Chase commented that White Grass typically opens in mid-November, but the avid skiers that live or visit here never miss an opportunity to play in the snow.
