City declares snow emergency midnight Wednesday through Friday

LACONIA — The City of Laconia has declared a snow emergency starting at midnight on Wednesday through noon on Friday.

Parking on city streets over that period is prohibited, according to a press release from the police department, and residents and visitors are encouraged to limit travel and plan accordingly. 

Parking in city-owned lots, such as at the courthouse or off Union Avenue in Lakeport, is allowed but not overnight. 

City residents may park in the downtown parking garage overnight for free. Violators of the parking ban could be subject to a $25 parking ticket and may be towed. Individuals who are towed will be held responsible for any associated fees.

Following the snow emergency street parking rules is important because it allows city employees and emergency responders adequate space to access hazardous areas, Police Chief Matt Canfield said Wednesday.

“Because of the significant amount of snowfall and the expected duration, the snow emergency allows the public works department to get in and plow where they need to and it helps emergency responders to stay safe as well,” Canfield said.

“It’s a long-term, very significant late spring storm,” he said. “We’re expecting lot’s of snow and there’s a possibility of power outages because of the heavy snow conditions,” he continued.

Canfield said because of advanced warning of the storm, he doesn’t expect a significant increase in traffic accidents, noting people generally do a good job of handling these conditions.

“Typically if people can stay home, they do,” he said. “With a storm this well-predicted we don’t usually see significant traffic collisions.”

Police will maintain regular patrols on city streets despite the storm, he said. But driving conditions will be poor.

“The driving conditions will be pretty hazardous and there will be poor visibility,” he said. “People can really assist the public works and emergency services" [by staying off the roads if possible].

Drivers should travel below the posted speed limit and take care to brake much earlier than normal, because stopping distance is greatly reduced under winter storm conditions.

The city also said trash pickup would be delayed because of the storm. Thursday’s route has been delayed until Friday and Friday’s route has been delayed until Saturday.

The transfer station on Meredith Center Road will be closed Thursday due to the snow emergency, according to a city release Wednesday afternoon.

The Lakes Region could see up to 18 inches of snowfall from a severe Nor’easter making its way north from Cape Cod. It’s expected road and driving conditions will be hazardous and power outages are expected, with utilities company Eversource issuing several warnings to customers in the days before the storm.

Laconia will likely see significant snowfall beginning Wednesday night. Sleet will begin before quickly transitioning to heavy snowfall. Projections estimate an accumulation of 12-18 inches of snow, with the largest accumulations expected to be recorded toward the Ossipee Mountains, which could see 18-20 inches.