Early heavy snow cause for concern

Many Tracy residents — as well as those in surrounding communities —spent plenty of time last week digging out from the first major storm of 2023. Here, Terry Strand helps a neighbor clear his sidewalk. Photo / Per Peterson

It’s been some time since the City of Tracy and its residents have had to deal with this much snow this early in a new year, and it’s causing some concern.

Tracy received anywhere from 10-12 inches of new snow last Tuesday and Wednesday in a multi-system storm that at time dropped 2-3 inches per hour; Tracy saw 6 inches of snow by noon Tuesday.

When you add all that to the 4 inches that fell on both Dec. 21 and Dec. 29, and it’s easy to see why the City might have a problem on its hands.

“The concern right now … the boulevards are already full — there isn’t going to be a lot of room to put anymore snow,” said Tracy Public Works Director Shane Daniels. “So we’re hoping for a melt, but it’s not looking good in the next 10 days,” said Tracy Public Works Director Shane Daniels. “This is usually what you see in March, and you know the melt is coming. I haven’t seen anything like this since 2008 or 2009 — I think it was right around the end of December — when we got piles of snow, and we fought that one most of the winter.”

See more in this week’s paper!