Public Works Director Happy with Plowing in Watertown During the October Nor'easter

The unusual October snow storm dumped enough snow on Watertown to require street plowing and salting, and Public Works Superintendent Gerald Mee said he was happy with the way his crews handled the wet slushy snowfall.

"It was a freak storm," Mee said. "Overall, our ability deal with a storm so early in the year was impressive, and we did it without contractors."

Mee called in his workers early on Saturday to prepare for the storm. The biggest frustration was figuring out just how much snow Watertown would get.

"The most difficult part of the storm was trying to interpret the many different weather forecasts," Mee said. "Each had a different message."

Plow drivers faced some obstacles, such as raised man holes on streets being repaved, including Pleasant Street and Arsenal Street. Mee said some of the work was left up to the contractors doing the repaving project.

"It's difficult to plow with raised manholes. We did it with the blade raised a few inches," Mee said. "We required the contractors to have equipment to clear the rest of the snow from the street."