Region hit hard by second snowy blast

LYNN – A nasty blend of snow, sleet and freezing rain pelted the North Shore Sunday and left behind a sloppy and slushy mess, making traveling treacherous.Sunday’s coastal storm came on the heels of a wintry blast last Thursday, which left the region blanketed with a thick coat of snow and all but paralyzed travelers for hours during the mid day commute.The only good thing about the latest storm was that it occurred on a weekend and many people opted to stay home, which freed up the roadways for plows to clear them.Still, dozens of minor motor vehicle accidents were reported in the area, mainly due to slick roadways and poor travel conditions.Assistant Superintendent of the Department of Public Works (DPW) Larry Donahue said the storm was a tough one for clean up and caught the department off guard.”We didn’t anticipate the storm to be a big one because the weather forecast said it was mainly going to rain, so this was a real son of a gun,” he said.Donahue said there were roughly 50 DPW plows and 150 contractor plows working hard to clear the roadways in the city during the storm.”We had a pretty good attendance out there, but we were a little bit short on trucks, say 30 or 40,” he said. “But when it really came down to it, we got it all done, plowing and salting the roads.”The biggest hindrance of the storm was the amount of vehicles parked in the street, which Donahue said plow drivers had a difficult time navigating around.”I’m not sure if there was a parking ban or not, but the amount of cars left in the street was just awful,” he said.Lynn Police said while the blue storm lights were flashing throughout the city on Sunday, there wasn’t a parking ban in effect.Regardless of the day’s events, Donahue said the roads would continue to be salted and prepared overnight for the morning commuters.”We all thought that we were going to be done by the afternoon and be home in time to watch the Patriots game, but I didn’t get to see even one play,” Donahue quipped. “Hopefully we can get a break in the weather for a bit because we’ve had a tough start and it’s not even winter yet.”