Snowfall accumulation in Beacon is up to 22” inches in places by Monday night, and is not over yet. The winter storm warning is in effect until Tuesday, with snow predicted to continue falling. The Beacon Highway Department was out plowing since 5:30am Monday morning, said Beacon’s new City Administrator, Chris White during the weekly City Council Meeting Monday evening. He noted that this is one of the longest runs they will do, running plows continuously throughout the day and overnight in attempts to keep up with the falling snow.

Dutchess County at large is also having trouble keeping up with clearing the snow, as Dutchess County Executive Marcus Molinaro said on Monday afternoon via press release: “Our Public Works Highway crews have been out all day, and will continue through the night, plowing roadways. However, the rate of snowfall is making work very challenging and road conditions are poor. Please avoid traveling to let crews do their work safely. Stay home and stay safe.”

Governor Cuomo declared a State of Emergency for 44 counties, and included the Hudson Valley in that, according to a press release sent by the Dutchess County Executive. While there are no specific travel bans at this time, the Governor’s announcements notes portions of key roadways, including I-84, may face travel bans if snowfall rate reaches between 2” -3” inches per hour.”

The Beacon City School District remains closed on Tuesday, with no Remote Learning taking place, as buildings are closed (and teachers have kids too! that would be really hard for a teacher to have a full Remote Learning day with kids at home).

Public bus transpiration remains closed until at least 12pm Tuesday, as do DMV and other Dutchess County offices. On Monday, Metro-North suspended services this afternoon, with the final trains leaving Grand Central Terminal at 3pm. Dutchess County 911 Communications Center call volume has been within normal limits throughout the day, according to the press release sent by the County Executive.

City of Beacon public offices remain closed Tuesday, but some employees are working remotely. People are encouraged to call the main line for a directory.

Dutchess County Government offices will be on a delayed opening Tuesday. Offices are scheduled to open at noon. If Dutchess County residents had a DMV appointment for Tuesday morning, those appointments will honored on Thursday, February 4th at the same time and location.

Dutchess County Public Transit Service is expected to resume full route service Tuesday, February 2nd starting at noon. Bus passengers can check for updates at www.dutchessny.gov/publictransit, on the DCPT mobile app, or call 845-473-8424, TDD/TTY: 711.

The Dutchess County Sheriff’s Office reports only a small increase in the number of auto related accidents or disabled vehicles as motorists heed guidance to avoid travel, as reported by the press release.

Main Street In Beacon - Closed Early If Open At All

Normally Beacon’s Main Street is very resilient. Many stores usually dig out and wedge their sidewalk signs into the mounds of plowed snow. but even Beacon’s long haulers could not sustain the snowfall, and closed early to help their employees go home safely. Citizens Bank was closed on Monday, but Artisan Wine Shop dug out and was open for win re-stocks.

trax coffee closing esrly snow bizzard.jpg

Digging Out - Did You Start?

Depending on when you started shoveling, you may not have even made a dent. Snow blowers powered up in the early afternoon, and stayed on into the evening, with neighbors removing snow in different shifts. Fortunately for shovelers, the snow was light and powdery. Sometimes if you wait too long, the snow begins to melt and gets heavy. People had different strategies:

Said @mdhairstylist: “🙋🏽‍♀️For the sake of cardio, we shoveled out our cars- just as an excuse to come inside and eat our snow-day snacks!😂”

@mattaewan was taking a different approach: “I plan to wait and let the snow release my car naturally, like a pressure cooker.”

@yaya_love_312 hedges her bets on tomorrow: “My strategy is to do it tomorrow 🤷🏾‍♀️”

A whole new dig-out will happen for Tuesday, despite massive efforts made by people on Monday. Will check in again then.

Digging Out Tips this round:

Leave your gate open. The show will pile up on either side of it, making it very hard to open. Your mail person would really like for that fence to not be jammed.
Dig a place for your trash cans, if your garbage/recycling collection is the next day after a blizzard.