Thanks to fluffy snow, widespread closures and motorists heeding warnings to stay off the road, public works directors in the Lakes Region say that plowing proceeded slowly but smoothly during Tuesday’s blizzard, which left 20 to 30 inches of snow across the region.

In Standish, 17 plows deployed by the public works department cleared the roads of 30 inches of snow – the largest accumulation in the Lakes Region deposited by the blizzard. According to Roger Mosley, the department’s director, crews worked the roads from 5 a.m. Tuesday through Wednesday evening. Although the storm was not the worst Mosley has seen, he said the windy conditions made plowing difficult.

“It was nasty,” Mosley said. “It was very nasty with the wind and the visibility, with windshields and wipers icing up all the time. It made it very slow getting around.”

But because schools and many businesses closed, the roads were relatively empty of vehicles, making the process easier, Mosley said.

“The traffic was way down,” he said. “I’ve been doing this a long time and it’s one of the better responses that I’ve seen of traffic staying off the roads.”

According to Nikki Becker, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Gray, the Tuesday storm was very similar to the last blizzard that swept the Lakes Region – on Feb. 8 and Feb. 9 of 2013. According to Becker, a blizzard is a storm with blowing snow that reduces visibility to less than a quarter of a mile for at least three hours, and features wind or wind gusts of 35 mph or more.

During the 2013 blizzard, which began on a Friday, the weather service reported 42-mph winds in Gray, 28 inches of snow in South Windham, and 22 inches of snow in North Windham. This week, the service reported 40-mph winds in Gray and 27 inches of snow in South Windham.

“Looking at all the numbers, for the most part there’s not that much difference between the two storms,” Becker said.

In Raymond, where 24 inches of snow fell, the public works department deployed 10 plow trucks early Tuesday morning to clear the roads. Although two of the trucks broke down, the plowing process was otherwise smooth and predictable, according to Nathan White, the department’s director.

“The wind made it tough and the amount of snow made it tough, but at the same time it was really light, fluffy snow so it made it easy to move around,” White said. “It wasn’t bad.”

“It was hard to see,” White added. “It was slow getting around. Traffic was almost non-existent. We had a lot of contract private plow companies running around. Other than that, and the sheriff’s department, that was about it. That saved us right there.”

White said the Raymond public works crew would be resting well Wednesday night in preparation for the upcoming storms.

“We’ll be out tomorrow, pushing snow banks back and cleaning up intersections,” White said. “We’ve got to make some room for the next two storms that are coming.”

According to Becker, the service is forecasting 4 to 8 inches of snow Friday. Another storm is expected Monday, but the service had not prepared a forecast as of press time on Wednesday. Neither storm is expected to be a blizzard, Becker said.

In Windham, where 27 inches of snow fell, a total of 21 plows cleared the roads early Tuesday morning through Wednesday afternoon. Aside from a few flat tires, there were no major incidents, despite the strong winds, according to Doug Fortier, Windham’s public works director.

“I was on roads that would be plowed and you go back an hour later and it’s like, ‘Wow it doesn’t even seem like it’s been plowed,’” Fortier said. “Thank God it was a light, fluffy snow. If it had been a heavy, wet snow, that wouldn’t have been fun.”

Ben Fox and Mike Tedesco, Southern Maine Community College student-firefighters who work with the Raymond Fire-Rescue Department, dig out one of town’s 25 fire hydrants on Wednesday morning after the region was hit with a blizzard. Fire officials encouraged residents to shovel any nearby hydrants, since fighting fires can be hampered by lack of access to hydrants.Photo by Rich Obrey