Arctic, Rhode Island, is living up to its name.
The West Warwick village, like the rest of the Ocean State, woke up Monday to a thick blanket of snow. About 16 inches in Arctic. Only Cranston, Providence and North Providence beat that total, according to the National Weather Service.
“I feel like I’m in the Arctic,” said Hugh Rajchel, as he struggled to clear his driveway.
Every big snowplow driving down Main Street made this a Sisyphean task, throwing up more snow and slush for him to clear from the spots he had already shoveled.
He figured he’ll be at it most of the day.
“It’s a good thing I grew up with perseverance,” he said, leaning on his shovel. “Or stubbornness, you might call it.”
State officials deployed 500 snowplows to clear the roads, and municipalities deployed many more. That’s not counting the small army of private snowplows clearing driveways and parking lots.
Gov. Dan McKee imposed a truck ban on all state roads overnight Sunday.
“Tractor-trailers, tankers, special permitted vehicles, RVs, box trucks, vehicles with trailers and, tandems,” McKee read out Sunday. But, he made clear, vehicles doing emergency work were exempt.
Astonishingly, Rhode Island Energy and Block Island Power reported no major power outages.
State and local governments activated emergency shelters statewide overnight, so Rhode Islanders would have free, safe spaces to sleep.
Fire Chief Jeffrey Varone of West Warwick said the shelter he runs at 100 Factory Street will likely be open through Thursday, when temperatures are finally expected to warm up.
It’s nothing fancy, he said.
“Just a warm bed, or a warm cot I should say, in the locker room of the civic center,” Varone said. But they offer food and support services too.
Despite more cold weather forecast over the next few days, at least 60 volunteers plan to fan out across the state Tuesday night for an annual homeless census.
The data collected, part of a nationwide census coordinated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, is used to determine federal funding.
So far, so good on this storm. But it’s still early days — with more snow expected Monday night and, later this week, temperatures expected to drop below zero.
