As the snow storm swept into the area on Thursday night, December 15, it brought with it heavy wet snow that fell at a steady rate. By morning there was more than 6 inches on the ground with snow continuing to fall at a rapid pace. The first call of the storm came in at 0555 hours on December 16th for a tree down in the roadway on County Route 59, the Back Hannawa Road. Over the next 24 hours the Potsdam Fire Department responded to 19 calls for service, ranging from trees down blocking roadways, to various wires down (power, cable, phone), to motor vehicle accidents. Other area departments were just as busy and the St. Lawrence County 911 center fielded over a hundred calls during the day on the 16th.