Storm ends 2008 with a chill
The Daily Mail
Jan. 1, 2009

Greene County residents celebrated the arrival of the New Year Wednesday from under a blanket of snow.

A winter weather advisory was in effect for western Greene County Wednesday until 4 p.m., warning that temperatures, already in the 20s, would feel colder as wind gusts would reach up to 40 miles per hour.

The National Weather Service in Albany said the storm dumped about 6 inches of snow in Catskill while 6.5 inches fell in Cairo.

Crews cleaned up an accident Wednesday morning on Main Street, in Catskill, where a sedan skidded through the intersection at Thompson Street and slammed into the Greene County Office Building on Main Street. The driver was uninjured, according to Catskill Police Sgt. John Lyles.

The car shattered a window and damaged a wall in the Department of Motor Vehicles’ office space, Greene County Clerk Michael Flynn said.

Flynn said that the breach had been temporarily repaired when he arrived at the office at 7:45 A.M.

“Greene County Buildings and Grounds did a great job buttoning it all up,” he said.

Greene County Highway Department crews started laying down de-icing agents and plowing at 4 a.m. Wednesday, said Deputy County Highway Department Superintendent Robert Van Valkenberg said.

“It was very slippery earlier,” he said.

Van Valkenberg said that crews would monitor roads today for snow drifts that had been moved by winds overnight.

Denise VanBuren, vice president of public relations for Central Hudson, said she was aware of only three power outages in the county. She said that a dry snow, like that which fell on Wednesday, was not likely to cause problems with power lines.

Slick roads, however, could contribute to outages, she said.

“Problems would come with the unfortunate person who does not heed the warnings and slides off the road into one of our poles,” she said.

State Police responded to several minor accidents on the Thruway Wednesday morning. Troop T authorities said that most of the accidents were minor.

Wednesday’s snow may not melt today, the National Weather Service said, as temperatures will stay below 20 degrees and wind chills will plunge far below zero.