By MADDY VITALE
A snowstorm coated the shore Friday with a glistening layer of snow.
And Ocean City was no exception.
From the streets and sidewalks to the Boardwalk and the beaches, it seemed snow was everywhere.
Monday and Tuesday’s storm left a dusting of snow and was merely a dress rehearsal for what was to come Friday.
Winter is here.
But luckily, so are the snowplows.
“As far as the roads go, we’ve had trucks out all day,” said Michael Allegretto, aide to Mayor Jay Gillian. “It seems that the roads are in decent shape overall. The plows have been hitting the main streets and the neighborhoods to make sure they are cleared.”
Earlier in the day, Frank Donato, the city’s emergency management coordinator, said that there was an accident at 34th Street and Simpson Avenue.
“Someone hit a fire hydrant, which is causing a little bit of a local flood,” Donato said of the incident that was cleared.
Ocean City school officials took extra precautions and ordered a half day of classes.
“Snow was heavier later in the day. The snow started around 7 a.m. and then at lunchtime the flakes became heavier,” Allegretto noted.
The National Weather Service had issued a Winter Weather Advisory for the resort until 10 p.m. on Friday.
However, due to freezing temperatures throughout the weekend, people are urged to use caution when traveling. In addition, make sure thermostat settings in unoccupied homes are above 60 degrees, and check on neighboring homes for frozen pipes, the city said in a weather alert.
Homeowners are urged to write down emergency contact numbers for local utility companies in case they experience outages or other problems during winter storms.
The utility companies recommend that homeowners contact them directly as soon as problems occur so that they can properly track outages and repairs.
For Police and Fire Department emergencies, call 911. For non-emergencies, call police at 609-399-9111 or City Hall at 609-399-6111.
