As snowfall begins to dwindle following a multiday storm across Vermont, cities and towns affected by blocked roads and power outages are working to repair the damage.
The National Weather Service dropped its winter storm warning for Vermont at 12:37 p.m. Wednesday, with wind advisories ending in Bennington and Windham Counties at 4 p.m.
As of Wednesday evening, electricity had been “restored to more than 62,500 customers as crews continue progress into day two of (a) challenging regionwide Nor’easter,” according to Green Mountain Power’s website.
As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, about 18,000 Green Mountain Power customers were without power with the more severe outages concentrated in the southeastern region of the state, according to the utility’s outage center. Green Mountain Power said it planned to continue restoring power to customers throughout Wednesday.
Although the worst of the storm may be over for now, the effects continue to interrupt daily life for many Vermont towns.
“The after-effects from the latest storm will continue for the next couple of days,” according to a press release from the Brattleboro Fire Department issued Wednesday afternoon. “Currently, 16% of Brattleboro remains without power.”
A Brattleboro town meeting on March 15 was canceled due to power outages, according to the town manager’s office. The meeting was rescheduled for March 22 at 5:30 p.m.
There were a total of 81 fallen trees and downed wires, obstructing 48 roads, according to Brattleboro Department of Public Works.
“Of these trees down, 23 have been cleared up so far and five crews continue to be keeping roads clear and coordinating with Green Mountain Power this morning,” Town Manager John Potter wrote in a press release Wednesday morning.
Businesses throughout the state have been affected by the storm as well, with many storefronts closing early due to road conditions or loss of internet access.
Lee Bradford, general manager at the Brattleboro Food Co-op, said that the co-op closed at noon Tuesday so staff could avoid road closures and get home safely as the storm worsened.
“Our No. 1 concern yesterday, and going into today, was definitely for the safety of our staff and shoppers … It was really the steady state of the snow all day yesterday that made us realize it wasn’t going to change and we needed to get people to safety,” Bradford said.
“We are still suffering some of the consequences of the storm. Our internet just went out and came back, so it’s still a super hectic time,” said Ruth Garbus, content and community relations coordinator at the co-op.
“I was just glad to see that Sam’s (Outdoor Outfitters) managed to stay open (yesterday) so we could all go buy crampons and stuff,” Bradford said.
Farther north in Burlington, the storm was less hard-hitting. Jorie Spaulding, marketing manager at Burlington Telecom, said there were no widespread outages reported in Burlington, South Burlington, Winooski or Essex, where Burlington Telecom supplies internet service.
But the storm is not over for everyone. Irasburg was one of the remaining towns under a winter weather warning as of Wednesday morning.
The storm is “not done here. It’s still like a blizzard … I haven’t heard enough yet to know exactly what the damage was across our town,” said Danielle Ingalls, town clerk and treasurer.
