Here's an article form todays bennington banner. be safe out there.
County buried in 2 feet of snow
Neal Goswami, Staff Writer
Article Launched: 02/15/2007 03:04:00 AM EST
Thursday, February 15
BENNINGTON — Winter weather finally struck Bennington County as snow and sleet painted the area white on Valentine's Day. But the picturesque snow caused travel woes and hindered a search for a missing rider.
24 inches
By 6 p.m., the National Weather Service reported 24 inches of snow on the ground in Woodford, 20 inches in Landgrove, and 16 inches just across the county line in Wilmington.
Snow accumulations for other towns were not available.
Most people were able to stay home and enjoy the snow as schools, businesses, and state offices were either closed for the day or closed early, but for some, the weather turned out to be a menace.
Sgt. Michael Marvin of the Vermont State Police in Shaftsbury said the road conditions were not suitable for driving Wednesday evening.
"The roads are in poor condition and we're asking people not to drive unless it's an absolute emergency," he said. "Fortunately, people have been listening to the warnings and staying off of the roads as much as possible."
Cars and trucks traveling down the mountain from the Woodford area had the most difficulty with the slippery conditions, according
Marvin.
"We've had cars off the road. ... We've had a number tractor-trailers stuck and jack-knifed on Route 9 up on Woodford Mountain," said Marvin.
Tractor-trailer trucks were ordered off of Vermont's interstates and state roads by state police around 6 p.m., according to Vermont Emergency Management. Several trucks became stuck in travel lanes and their inability to move made it difficult for snow plows to clear roadways. Truck drivers are being told to pull over to the side of the road, or pull into a rest area or truck stop. Those who do not comply will be pulled over by state police and subject to fines.
State police were out in force, calling off-duty troopers in to assist in dealing with the storm.
"We have ... activated all members of the Vermont State Police criminal division to assist its patrol division, putting an extra 40 troopers on the highways to help with stranded motorists and accidents," said Public Safety Commissioner Kerry Sleeper.
A blizzard warning was issued by the National Weather Service for most of Vermont Wednesday afternoon that was in effect until 6 a.m. Thursday. High winds and heavy snow at times were expected for most of Wednesday evening and night, with a total storm accumulation of 15 to 30 inches of snow, according to the NWS.
Police were also searching for a snowmobile rider who went missing Wednesday morning, said Marvin.
Police were notified at about 12:30 Wednesday that snowmobiler Neil Jensen, of Egremont, Mass., could not be found.
"A group of three or four snowmobilers went out this morning in Woodford and one hasn't come back. He's been missing since about 11 a.m.," he said. "We believe he was last seen on one of the trails in the northern Woodford area. ... Conditions are very poor up there and visibility is poor," said Marvin.
Police set up a command post in Woodford to coordinate the search efforts. With the aid of a snow groomer, officers were able to reach the point where Jensen was last seen, but there was no sign of where Jensen may have left the trail. Search efforts were temporarily suspended due to extreme weather conditions, said police, but will resume today in an expanded area. Troopers continue to patrol the roads in Woodford in search of Jensen.
Jensen was last seen operating a 2004 blue Yamaha snowmobile and was wearing a bluish gray jacket, red pants and dark helmet. He is about 6 foot 3 inches tall and 250 pounds. He has brown hair.
Bennington Town Manager Stuart A. Hurd said he decided to send town employees home Wednesday morning.
Hurd said town officials also made an effort to alert people about treacherous road conditions caused by the snow which fell at about 1 to 2 inches per hour throughout the day.
"We called the radio stations, basically asking people to only travel for essential operations," he said.