When the snow stopped, cleanup began for people in New Haven, who broke out their shovels today to clear off driveways and sidewalks.
Thankfully, it wasn't a difficult task.
“The snow is really light which is nice. We've had many worse snow storms in the past,” said Asher Brandt, a student at Southern Connecticut State University.
What made this storm difficult were bitter cold temperatures. Road treatment chemicals don't work such intense cold, so public works crews made spent the day plowing to clear out as much snow as possible.
“They actually did a much better job getting to our inlet roads, that are not our major roads,” said New Haven Mayor Toni Harp.
Crews from the New Haven Parks Department supplemented the Dept. of Public Works and hit all the major public sidewalks.
City officials said their main concern is keeping people warm. Warming stations at the libraries will stay open through Saturday, and Union Station is also being used as a warming center.
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“We're actually going to see if we can get the state to keep it open 24 hours a day," said Harp. "All our homeless shelters are open all day long. Normally, they are only open at night, so we're going to continue to have them open all day as well, so that people can stay warm."
The snow storms have also been costly for New Haven. Prior to yesterday's storm, the city used up 56 percent of its overtime budget and its entire budget for private contractors and materials.
New Haven is now in the process of transferring money to cover this latest storm and those to come.
