LOWELL The first major
snowstorm of the season battered the Merrimack Valley and most of the state yesterday,
as plows struggled to keep up with the slow-moving storm.
Forecasters at the National Weather Service in Taunton said Lowell and surrounding
areas were blanketed by close to 10 inches by 9 p.m. and predicted at least one
to two feet in isolated areas. Lowell declared a snow emergency, prohibiting parking
on all city streets. Garages were open for free parking.
Schools across the region canceled the Scholastic Assessment Test, and high school
football championship games were postponed until at least today.
"This is probably going to be a record-breaking storm for Middlesex County this
early in December," National Weather Service forecaster Bill Simpson said.
Simpson said the storm was two separate fronts, a slow Nor'easter with occasional
blizzard-like conditions. The North Shore, and some areas west of Boston were
expected to be hit the hardest.
State
Police spokesman Paul Maloney said plow drivers were out in full force, but were
struggling.
Maloney said police responded
to numerous fender-benders and spin-outs caused by drivers who did not adapt to
conditions.
"The snow is ideal for snowballs
and snowmen but treacherous for driving," Maloney said.
State police advised motorists to clean all the snow off their cars and reduce
their speeds on the highway to 35 or 40 mph. As typical with the first few snowfalls
of the year, drivers were driving too fast, Maloney said.
"There's a lot of idiots out their driving when they should be home," said frustrated
trooper Lou Torname. "People should stay home. They're just getting in the way."
The storm, however, did not stop the Irish Tenors from going forward with their
scheduled Christmas Spectacular at Lowell Memorial Auditorium. It forced ticket-holders
to decide between risking driving or forfeiting $76 per ticket.
Auditorium Executive Director Tom McKay said the show went on because of the Tenors'
tight schedule. McKay consulted with other area venues like the Wang Center in
Boston and the North Shore Music Center, all of which went ahead with scheduled
performances. The Auditorium sold more than 2,500 tickets. They were not refundable.
"In the end it was the Tenors' decision and we decided to go," said auditorium
Marketing Director Pete Lally, who said the Tenors are scheduled to perform at
3 p.m. today at Moehegan Sun in Connecticut.
"I checked the Web site 10 times saying, 'I'm sure they'll cancel. I'm sure they'll
cancel'," said Ellen Wiklanski of North Reading, who drove to Lowell for the show
with her husband John. Another couple decided not to go with them. "We thought
about canceling but I think we like the challenge probably more than the Tenors."
Perry Barrasso of Nahant probably had the best idea of anyone, He rented a
limo to take he, his wife, and three other couples to Lowell, but he said they
even had reservations.
"You can't
believe how many times I checked the Web site to see if they'd cancel," Barrasso
said. "There was a point in the trip when we looked at each other and thought
about asking the driver to turn around but we were in Wilmington by then."
The city lifted the parking ban for the area around the auditorium, allowing
concert-goers to park on the street.
Lowell DPW Commissioner Eddie Walsh said 40 to 50 people worked during the storm,
with 150 pieces of equipment clearing the streets. Workers had been preparing
since 11:30 p.m. Friday night. Walsh said he expected to continuing clearing snow
from school parking lots and streets well into today
