City Hunkers Down for Snow Storm

As a snow storm made its way toward the Portsmouth area on Wednesday afternoon, city officials were already taking steps to prepare ahead of it.

The Portsmouth Public Works Department declared a snow emergency for all downtown streets effective at 10 p.m. on Wednesday that will be enforced beginning at 1 a.m. on Thursday. No vehicle is allowed to park on any city street and violators will receive fines and have their vehicles towed. The snow emergency is designed to provide access for city snow plow trucks and fire and police vehicles.  

Public Works officials said they will end the snow emergency after the snow storm has stopped and the streets are cleared.

The snow emergency emcompasses all downtown streets that are located between Deer Street on the north; Market, Bow and Marcy streets on the east; Court Street on the south; and Middle, Maplewood, and Bridge streets on the west.

Meanwhile at City Hall, a decision was made Wednesday afternoon to delay the opening of the Portsmouth Public Library, Connie Bean Recreation Center, Spinnaker Point Adult Recreation Center and the Portsmouth Indoor Pool until 12 noon on Thursday.

City officials urged residents to contact each facility on Thursday morning before heading to any of them in case they end up being closed for the entire day. The telephone numbers for each facility are as follows: 427-1540 for the Portsmouth Public Library; 427-1546 for the Portsmouth Indoor Pool; 766-1483 for the Connie Bean Recreation Center; and 766-1484 for the Spinnaker Point Adult Recreation Center.

With children on February school vacation in New Hampshire this week, the Portsmouth Public Schools are already closed and the city Public Works Department snow removal budget has been virtually unscathed since the last major snow storm occurred just before Halloween.

At Public Service of New Hampshire's headquarters in Manchester, PSNH officials were gearing up for what could be a long day on Thursday if the snowstorm that could dump as much as 10 inches of snow in some areas causes widespread power outages.

PSNH officials issued a press release on Wednesday afternoon that they have
more than 200 crews - including line and tree crews - to deal with any emergencies that come up.

As of 5 p.m. on Wednesday, the National Weather Service in Gray, Maine has issued a winter storm warning and is calling for much of the state to get six to 10 inches of snow. Driving conditions for the Thursday morning commute could also be hazardous.

"Customers are reminded to report any outages immediately to PSNH at 1-800-662-7764," said Martin Murray, PSNH spokesman, in a prepared statement. "Customers should also be mindful of possible downed lines, tree limbs and debris, and poor driving conditions given the forecast."

The NH Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management in Concord also urged motorists to take extra precautions for the Wednesday afternoon and Thursday commutes.

“We’ve been spoiled by a mild winter so far this season, but this storm reminds us that it is still winter and we will be experiencing winter driving conditions for the next few days,” said Christopher M. Pope, Director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, in a prepared statement.