Photo by Pamela Greenstein

Several areas in Chautauqua County are battling the behemoth of a snowstorm that first made its appearance on Christmas Day.

The northern part of the county is experiencing the most difficulty, according to Patrick Noble, Chautauqua County road construction supervisor. Noble said due to the drifting snow, and the snowfall itself, it is a challenge to keep up.

“All the plows are on the road,” he said.

At this point, the county has shortened routes to allow more passes of each route to be made in a shorter timeframe. Also, Noble said many trucks have been moved to the northern part of the county to “help keep up.”

Noble said he lives in Westfield, and from what he observed on his way into work, it appeared that the Hartfield/Centralia area got the most snow.

Noble said while the snowfall might have surprised some, it didn’t surprise county officials.

“We’re always prepared,” he said. “This is the biggest one of the season.”

Noble asked that the public try to keep the snow they remove from their driveway out of the road because it makes it difficult for the plow trucks. Also, he asked that people “be cautious” of the plows.

“They’ve got a job to do,” Noble said.

He added it is best not to pass a plow truck during snow storms such as these.

“You’re just asking for trouble,” Noble said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Martin Bova, mayor of Mayville, issued a travel advisory due to the persistent snow and limited resources. The advisory asked for no unnecessary travel in the village. The sidewalk plow is out of service and the village is in the process of renting one to get the sidewalks plowed. No garbage will be picked up until weather conditions improve which will permit safety for village workers.

Bova said the main reason for the travel advisory is for the safety of everyone involved and to make sure the roads stay open for emergencies. He said the roads are becoming very narrow and the intersections are accumulating high banks.

“When you have an event where there is just snow for however many days it’s been now, it’s all hands on deck just to keep the roads open,” Bova said.

Bova said the snow is supposed to last until today at 6 p.m, and will probably mean another day of plowing and digging out.

“The snow, when I walked out my door this morning – I’m six feet tall – was probably 6 inches above my knees,” he said.

Bova said he can’t recall a time during his time in Mayville when there was this much snow that fell at one time. He said there had been other times where snow had fallen over a period of days that was similar or more than this, but not all at one time.

“We’ll survive, and we’ll get through it,” Bova said. “It’s just keeping up with it.”

Bova suggested that drivers continue to restrict their driving until the snow event is over to allow the roads to be cleared.

John Buxton, Mayville Department of Public Works superintendent, said workers have been working around the clock to keep up.

“We’ve just been fighting,” Buxton said.

Buxton said the snow has not yet let up, and the village has gotten at least two feet of snow. He said the plow truck operators worked all day on Christmas day and began work once more at 2:30 a.m. on Tuesday.

“The roads are getting narrow and the banks are high,” he said. “It appears to be hitting just us here. The radar pin pointed us.”

Buxton said this isn’t the only storm Mayville has seen in the past month. He said the snowstorm that hit last week was big as well.

When it comes to the public, Buxton asked that people not park in the road for too long.

“If there are cars in the road, it poses a problem for us to move the snow,” he said.

The National Weather Service is reporting snowfall totals for Chautauqua County as of Tuesday as follows:

¯ Silver Creek: 10 inches

¯ Dunkirk: 8 inches

¯ Fredonia: 7.8 inches

¯ Jamestown: 3.5 inches