Hazardous weather conditions that resulted in more than 2 feet of snow in as many days in some parts of the region seem to have taken many by surprise.

We’re not sure how or why, but area roadways remained unnecessarily treacherous. Many streets were not plowed in a timely manner – either during or after the snowfalls Sunday night into Monday and Monday into Tuesday.

Historically, local and state road and sidewalk cleanup crews have done an excellent job, even in the most brutal of snowstorms, providing safer access for motorists and pedestrians alike. We realize this often is a thankless task with long, arduous hours, and no matter how good of a job is done, people generally are never happy.

In this case, we aren’t questioning the workers tasked with clearing roadways, sidewalks and other pedestrian access points. Rather, we are wondering why those who control the plowing schedule didn’t have this vital safety equipment running earlier and more often in what sometimes were almost whiteout conditions.

We can only hope this first storm of the season is the worst, but the only predictable thing about weather is that it is unpredictable. “The Old Farmer’s Almanac” says our 2019-2020 winter season will be “milder than normal, on average, with above-normal precipitation and near- or below-normal snowfall. The coldest periods will be in early to mid-January, late January, and early February. The snowiest periods will be in mid-November, mid- to late-December, and early and late January.”

Greater Nashua escaped snow in November, and we hope this week’s storm isn’t a sign of what’s to come. Regardless, we urge motorists to use caution when driving in such adverse conditions and for those who can stay off of the roads to do so during inclement weather.

Sometimes, no matter how hard road crews try, there’s no possible way to make driving conditions safe in harsh New Hampshire weather. Perhaps that was the case this week.

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