A rare October snowstorm caught some municipalities off guard on Friday, with more snow falling than forecasted.
“I was surprised,” said Swampscott Department of Public Works director Gino Cresta early Friday afternoon. “I continue to be surprised. It’s still coming down. We were caught a little off guard, but we got the sanders on the trucks early this morning and we’ve been out sanding ever since.”
Cresta said he was only expecting rain on Friday, but by 8 a.m., the rain had already switched to snowfall.
In Lynn, Department of Public Works Commissioner Andrew Hall said he was not surprised by the storm, as snow was in the forecast.
“We got a little more snow than the forecast called for, but we were prepared,” said Hall. “The forecast was two inches. We probably got two and a half. It pretty well matched up with our forecast.”
Hall said the storm was reminiscent of one from a couple of years ago, which also happened around Halloween. In that instance, snow fell on the night of the holiday, he said.
The Lynn DPW had about a dozen trucks and plows on the road on Friday, a smaller than normal fleet, Hall said. By 5 p.m. Friday, he said crews were still out on the roads, and expected there to be challenging road conditions overnight as temperatures got colder.
“People forget how to drive in the snow,” said Hall. “They’re out of practice. It’s the first storm of the year. Drive slow. Be careful. You’ll get there eventually. Save a little time and don’t get in accidents.”
Both Cresta and Hall said their clean-up crews did not encounter many challenges on the roads throughout the day on Friday.
“The roads are relatively warm so there hasn’t been a lot of calls, but we got the sanders out early enough so we’ve been out sanding and salting the roads to keep those clear,” said Cresta.
Swampscott Town Administrator Sean Fitzgerald also recalled a past October snowstorm, which like the one a couple of years ago, occurred around Halloween.
“I think many of us remember about 10 years ago when we had that Halloween storm,” said Fitzgerald as he was on his way outside to reconstruct a snowman. “While it was a bit of a surprise, when you live in New England, just wait a minute and (things) will change.”
In that instance, he said the snow accumulation was about two inches, which was similar to Friday’s storm.
“We had no significant reports of accidents, so overall the town is in good shape and handled it well,” said Fitzgerald.
While motorists and pedestrians were slipping and sliding, inside Brothers Deli on Market Street in Lynn there was no shortage of customers waiting to grab a bite to eat.
“Even during snow and rain, people always find a way to come in and get their food,” said owner George Markos. “Business is getting better and this is the first time in nearly a year that I’ve seen such a big improvement, so much that even on a snowy day like today, people are still coming to Brothers.”
In Lynnfield, a mother of a fifth-grade student at Lynnfield Middle School said the snow had no negative effect on the school day, saying that the morning and afternoon buses her child takes to school were on time with no additional problems.
Administrative assistants who answered the phones at the Departments of Public Works in Saugus and Nahant said that all members of both offices were on the road and unable to comment on potential storm damage in the community, although Nahant’s office aid reported there had been no issues caused by the snow apart from the need for typical sanding and plowing.
For some people, like Lynn resident Patricia Frawley, a rare October snowstorm is just another crazy part of what’s been an abnormal year.
“I think it’s crazy, but what else is new in 2020?” said Frawley, as she was carrying groceries down South Common Street Friday afternoon. “It is pretty though.”
Item reporter Elyse Carmosino contributed to this report.
