The city of Watertown and Jefferson County are starting to recover Monday after several days of heavy lake-effect snow and high winds.
The National Weather Service reports 41 inches of snow have fallen since Friday in the city of Watertown and in Henderson Harbor on Lake Ontario; Copenhagen in Lewis county got 30 inches.
A winter storm warning remains in effect for all of Jefferson and Lewis counties until Tuesday 1 pm. Officials downgraded travel bans in all three counties to travel advisories Monday. Jefferson County is urging no unnecessary travel. "Blowing and drifting snow and high snowbanks will continue to impede visibility," said the Sheriff's Office in a Facebook post. "Ongoing cleanup & recovery efforts will create additional hazards to motorists."
"You probably could not see three to four houses down the street" on Saturday, said Jefferson County legislator and state Assemblyman-elect Scott Gray. "For the city, that's unusual. You usually don't get visibility issues" in the city, he said.
The towns along the St. Lawrence River, including Clayton and Alexandria Bay, were among the hardest hit, with a rare band of lake effect snow and gusty winds pummeling the area. "Seldom do you see lake effect go that far north," said Gray.
Several thousand people were without power at different points during the storm, including all of Wellesley Island, said Gray. According to National Grid, Grindstone Island and some other islands were expected to have power restored by Monday night.
Jefferson and St. Lawrence County Sheriff and New York State Police were using snowmobiles, ATVs, and tracked vehicles to rescue motorists who were stranded, "so many, at this point, that they don't have the number tallied yet," said Gray. "The situations were just dire at that point." He said that there were no reports of any casualties. But he said law enforcement, with the help of National Grid, responded to people who needed help with life support equipment and other life-threatening issues.
The lake effect snow is finally expected to weaken Tuesday afternoon. Temperatures later in the week could reach the upper-40s, which could cause a risk of localized flooding due to rapid snow melt.
