Blizzard knocks power out for hours (27 hours for some customers) in Exeter

Exeter was not too far south of the bullseye for a storm that hit just after midnight on March 19.  The storm started with rain/sleet and quickly turned from ice to a heavy wet snow.  Exeter received over 10 inches that were nearly impossible to scoop.  Wednesday morning around 8 a.m. power went out in the southeast part of town with the rest of town losing power around 11 a.m.  School had been called off the night before.

Along with the storm were strong winds that piled the snow up into drifts and impaled it on windows and trees.  Power lines and poles were snapped by the weight of the ice and snow build up on lines and many trees, especially pine/spruce trees lost branches because of the weight.  Just a mile south of Exeter power lines were down for several weeks.  (Power utility workers were seen on the road working on April 7).

Power was restored to most of Exeter late in the evening on March 19 but southeast Exeter residents didn't get power back until 11 a.m. on March 20. There was no school March 19,20 or 21.  Many rural roads were not plowed and there were impassible roads.  

Heavy wet snow clung to the evergreen trees in Exeter breaking many branches.

The heavy wet snow was very difficult to scoop but fortunately most of it was gone by the weekend.

Trees were bent and broken by the heavy wet snow.

 The day before the storm, Tuesday, March 18, had a high of 80 degrees with lots of trees budding and blooming.