Tewksbury Storm Center: News On The Father/Daughter Dances

(Editor's note: We will be continuing to update this article with additional information about the blizzard and it's impact on Tewksbury.)

See a tree down in your neighborhood? Notice a road blocked off? Just saw a store clerk upload a pallet of fresh batteries? Please use this story on Tewksbury Patch to help out your neighbors as we brave the storm together.

As we hunker down to ride out the Blizzard of '13, we want to make sure that Tewksbury stays connected. For live updates during the storm, be sure to download our App for your smartphone or tablet and 'like' Tewksbury Patch on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

As you send us messages through social media and email (williamg@patch.com), we’ll make sure the information is added here to this story in the comments and on the map found above. If you notice wires down or a tree across the road, please alert authorities and then let us know so we can spread the word quickly. You can comment right on this story to make sure readers know what’s going on in your neighborhood.

You can share info about where to find items like bottled water or batteries or where power has gone out.

Tewksbury Patch is all about connecting neighbors and helping neighbors so we hope you’ll find this information hub helpful as we brave the storm together. Stay safe Tewksbury!

Closings and Cancellations for Friday, Feb. 8

• Tewksbury High Boys & Girls Track MVC Championships - New Date: TBA
• Tewksbury Public Schools are closed
• #MBTA Service Suspended on All Lines Effective 3:30 PM on Friday, Feb. 8 this includes T and commuter rail and bus, everything.
• Office hours at the Tewksbury Library for State Sen. Barry Finegold have beenpostponed to Feb. 15, from 10:30 to 11:30 p.m. on the second floor.
• The Senior Center Valentine's Dance scheduled for tonight has been postponed and rescheduled for Friday, Feb. 15.
• The Senior Center is open today but classes and programs are cancelled.
• Eastern Bank, 1800 Main St., is closing at noon
• The Tewksbury Public Library closed at Noon
• Tewksbury Town Hall closed at 11 a.m.
• Market Basket is closing at 3 p.m.

Closings and Cancellations for Saturday, Feb. 9

• MIAA Wrestling Sectionals - New Date: Sat. Feb. 16
• Tewksbury High Girls Gymnastics meet - New Date: Monday, Feb. 11th
• Tewksbury High Boys JV & V. Ice-Hockey New Date: TBA
• Tewksbury/Metheun Girls Ice-Hockey - New Date: TBA
• Tewksbury Democratic Caucus - New Date: Saturday February 23, 2013 at 10 a.m. in Town Hall.
• Winter Market at Mahoney's is cancelled. It will resume next Saturday, Feb. 16.
• Tewksbury Public Library is closed
• Boston Bruins game at the TD Garden has been moved to a 7 p.m. start

Tewksbury Public Safety Contact Phone Numbers:

Emergencies: 911

Fire Department: 978-640-4410

Police Department: 978-851-7373

Department of Public Works: 978-640-4440 -- For any emergencies after 4:30 PM, please call the Police Department at 978-851-7373. This procedure is for emergencies only.

National Grid:

• Outage reporting hotline – Massachusetts and Rhode Island customers can call 1-800-465-1212 to report an outage.
• Text messages – Customers can receive text message alerts and updates through a free service the company offers. Text the word STORM to NGRID (64743) to sign up for the service.
• National Grid uses social media – Facebook and Twitter – to communicate with customers about service issues and interruptions during storms.
• E-mail alerts are also available to customers who create an online profile on the company’s website. All alert services can be started and stopped at the customer’s request.
• Customers can use their mobile devices to track outage information and storm related safety tips through National Grid’s new mobile site that can be accessed at nationalgrid.com.

Sign up for Tewksbury Patch’s breaking news alerts, “like” us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.

UPDATES:

Saturday, 4:35 p.m.

• John Lyons from the Tewksbury School Department tells us that the annual Father/Daughter Valentine's Dances are ON for Sunday, Feb. 10 at the Tewksbury Country Club.
• The travel ban in Massachusetts has now been lifted. Feel free to drive but please be careful, especially around the plows. Click here for some tips on driving safely around the plows.

Saturday 3:30 p.m.

• The cleanup in Tewksbury continues, street by street with few problems. Most of the feedback from residents has been very positive regading the work of the plow crews.
• We've gotten a few questions regarding tomorrow's Father-Daughtr dances at the Tewksbury Country Club and are waiting on an answer.
• The Boston Bruins game against the Tampa Bany Lightning, originally scheduled for 1 p.m. and then pushed back to 7 p.m., has now been postponed due to the snow emergency in Boston.

Saturday, 10:30 p.m.

• The U.S. Postal Service has announced there will be no mail delivery service today due to the storm.
• Town Manager Richard Montuori has provided an update on plowing, which he says is going steadily but slowly. Montuori says some of the trucks are having difficulty pushing the huge quantities of snow. Also two trucks went down over night with mechanical problems. He is asking residents to remain patient as roads are plowed today and tomorrow.
• There are two things residents can do to help the cleanup process. If you have a fire hydrant near your home, please shovel it out. This will help firefighters tremendously and could help save property and life in the case of a fire.
• Also, when shoveling or plowing your driveways and walkways, please don't send the snow back out into the street. This will just make things harder on plow drivers and can create dangerous situations for other drivers.

Saturday, 8:30 a.m.

Good morning Tewksbury!! OK, do you want the good news or the bad news? Well, let's start with the good news.

• Apparently there is a cosmic balance when it comes to major storms and power outages. According to National Grid, there are over 160,000 customers without power in Massachusetts ... and not one of them is in Tewksbury. This is a far cry from the infamous Snowtober storm of 2011 when over half the town lost power.
• But here is the bad news. This storm isn't over yet. Not by a long shot. According to the National Weather Service, we are likely to get another 6-10 inches of snow before the storm finally ends some time this afternoon.
• Some more good news. Jon Ryan's Pubs is reporting that they will be open for lunch today.
• Some more bad news, if you do try to go to lunch you will be risking a $500 fine and jail time because the statewide travel ban remains in effect.
• And this from the MBTA -- MBTA service will not be restored this weekend. Right now the goal is to have service back by Monday.

Friday, 9 p.m.

• The wind is whipping up at 30-40 MPH, but to this point, National Grid has not reported any power outages in Tewksbury or any of the surrounding communities.
• Speaking of National Grid, a spokesperson for the comapny has released a clarification regarding earlier reports that the company was not planning to restore power outages from the storm until Sunday. In an email, the spokesperson wrote:

"It's true that, due to the nature of this storm, some customers may experience extended outages. Realizing this, we've been delivering regular safety messages for the past few days to make sure customers are properly prepared in case that does happen. We've also been communicating that we will be deploying crews to restore any Tewksbury customers as soon as it is safe to do so, which we anticipate to start some time tomorrow. After reading your headline, however, we are concerned that some of your readers may take it to mean that National Grid will not be doing any restoration efforts until Sunday, which is not the case. Restoration efforts could certainly continue through Sunday, but we want to make sure all of our customers understand that while there may be delays, we are committed to ensuring every customer is restored as quickly and safely as possible."

Friday, 5:23 p.m.

• Cumberland Farms has announced they are providing free coffee to all plow drivers out on the roads.
• The Archdiocese of Boston has issued the following statement relative to the winter storm:

BLIZZARD WARNING & THE SUNDAY MASS OBLIGATION

The Catholic faithful are reminded to exercise prudence this weekend as they seek to fulfill their Sunday Mass obligation. Weather forecasts predict a significant amount of snowfall on Friday and Saturday, and Archdiocesan officials have already been in contact with parish staffs about the steps that can be taken to prevent building damage and accidents during the storm.

The Office of Divine Worship urges all Catholics to heed the travel advisories of their cities and towns, and to stay off the roads during the peak hours of the storm and plow operation. The faithful are encouraged to use good judgment when planning to travel to Mass. Hopefully the storm will have passed on Saturday, and roadways will be clear for travel on Sunday. In the event that roadways are not clear for travel on Sunday, the faithful are reminded that the obligation to attend SundayMass does not apply when there is grave difficulty in fulfilling this obligation. (See Code of Canon Law, Canon 1248 §2)

Friday, 4:30 p.m.

• Tewksbury Firefighters have been called in to assist in battling a 3-alarm fire in Wilmington. It goes without saying that the weather conditions are making their jobs that much more difficult and dangerous. Click here to read more about the fire.

Friday, 2:43 p.m.

• More info on the driving ban. According to the Executive Order issued by Gov. Deval Patrick, any unauthorized drivers caught on the roads after 4 p.m. could be subject to a $500 fine and/or one year in jail. Apparently, they are serious about this.

Friday, 2:11 p.m.

• Town Manager Richard Montuori has just released the following statement based on information he received from National Grid officials: "According to National Grid, as a company, they will not send crews out to address power outages during the storm.  When the storm ends they will do a storm assessment of their entire service area and develop a restoration plan identifying priorities. The restoration plan is scheduled to be disseminated to municipalities early Sunday with the restoration beginning thereafter  .  Residents that experiencing power outages should not expect restoration before Sunday. As usual  National Grid will address emergency situations as soon as safe to do so."

Friday, 1 p.m.

• Tewksbury Town Hall and Town Library are now closed for the day due to the storm.
• Gov. Deval Patrick has issued an executive order barring all non-essential vehicles from the roadways as of 4 p.m.
  

Friday, 10 a.m.

• The latest forecast from the National Weather Service is not good for Tewksbury. Snowfall estimates are 24-35 inches. At the height of the storm, winds will be 30-40 MPH with gusts up to 60 MPH. You know what this means folks, there will be power outages. Please be ready.
• Town Manager Richard Montuori has said that if need be, the Senior Center will be opened as an emergency shelter. We will announce that on Tewksbury Patch.
• The Town Manager also advises that the emergency system Code Red will be used to inform residents of critical storm information.

Thursday, 11 p.m.

This from Tewksbury Town Manager Richard Montuori:

"The Town is prepared to open an emergency shelter if needed and residents can contact the Police Department to determine if one has been activated.  The Town will also utilize its code red notification system during the storm to notify residents of any emergencies or important information."

Thursday, 9:04 p.m.

• Just got word that the Merrimack Valley Conference has cancelled -- not postponed -- cancelled the MVC Indoor Track Championships that had been scheduled for Friday. Coaches and athletes are burning up Twitter. They are not happy.
• The latest forecast is calling for even more snow. Estimates are ranging from 24-40 inches. 

Thursday, 6:45 p.m.

• Tewksbury Public Schools have been cancelled for Friday.
• Gov. Deval Patrick has ordered all drivers to be off the roads by noon Friday.

Thursday, Feb. 7, 5 p.m.

• As of right now, Tewksbury Public Schools will be open tomorrow.
• Also, all municipal offices will be open as scheduled, although Town Manager Richard Montuori says that an early closure of municipal offices is possible.

Complete Coverage of the Blizzard of '13

• Tewksbury Schools Will Be Closed On Friday Due To Storm 
• Blizzard Warning Now In Effect For Tewksbury

• SHOW US: Upload Your Photos And Videos of The Blizzard
• LIVE CHAT: Blizzard of 2013
• 6 Tips For Driving Safely Near Plows in the Winter
• Archdiocese Issues Announcement Regarding Storm and Mass
• Tips For Driving In The Snow And Ice
• 9 Tips to Keep Your Pets Safe in the Winter
• Share Your Photos: How Much Snow Do You Have?

Important Additional Safety Information:

• State Police Offer Tips For Safe Winter Driving
• 6 Tips For Driving Safely Near Plows in the Winter
• MEMA Issues Tips For Staying Safe in Extreme Cold
• 9 Tips to Keep Your Pets Safe in the Winter