News
Area gets whole mess of winter
![]() Accident Wednesday morning on I-95 in North Attleboro.(Staff photo by MARK STOCKWELL)
Top Headlines Interstate 95 at the Attleboro-Pawtucket line was a collision zone in both directions about 6 p.m. as temperatures plunged and rain-slick roads glazed over. The rest of the night wasn't any easier for motorists or public safety workers, with one dispatcher warning emergency crews the "roads are an absolute sheet of ice." No serious injuries were reported from the slew of crashes. State police reported a "million accidents, but mostly minor." Interstate 295 South in North Attleboro was shut down early Wednesday night after a tractor trailer jackknifed. A truck slid into a utility pole at a corner on Tiffany Street in Attleboro just before 10 p.m. "Flooding, icing, all kinds of storm-related headaches," complained Wrentham dispatcher William Daniel, who said emergency crews made repeated runs to Interstate 495 and Route 1. Highway crews described the storm as easily the toughest of the winter. "Everything froze up too quick," said an Attleboro public works employee who declined to give his name. "The temperature dropped about 5 degrees in about 10 minutes." The commute home was eased somewhat by workers who left early because of the weather. Many schools delayed openings Wednesday morning and others closed early. Wrentham Village Premium Outlets in Wrentham closed at 1 p.m. Up to 5 inches of snow was forecast, but only 0.75 inch had fallen by Wednesday night, the Attleboro Water Department said. For most of the day, the weather just seemed confused. "We're calling it snizzle," a water department employee quipped of the snow and drizzle mix. The day's temperature peaked at 38 degrees at 5 p.m., but plunged to 26 degrees by 7 p.m. AAA Southern New England reported waits of 90 minutes or more as hundreds of calls flooded in for frozen locks and doors. The commute this morning was expected to be nearly as treacherous as Wednesday's. The forecast calls for windy and cold, with a high of only 24 degrees. Tonight should have a low of 9 degrees.
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