Helicopter to ferry supplies to icebound Tangier Island as warmer weather awaits

Warmer weather is almost here to help diffuse the bomb cyclone.

Highs are expected to hit at least the 40s beginning Monday, and those temperatures should reign for the rest of the work week, according to the National Weather Service.

That relative balminess would bring some respite to Delmarva residents still trying to dig their way out of Thursday's foot-plus snowfall. 

The culprit was a rapidly intensifying coastal storm forecasters dubbed a "bomb cyclone." Although sunny days followed in its wake, daytime highs in the teens and 20s ensured that the snow and ice would be sticking around. 

In the city of Salisbury, where plowing efforts were among the most intense on the Eastern Shore, every street had been cleared by Saturday morning. But many roads had been opened to just one lane of traffic, prompting officials to urge drivers to be extra cautious in such areas.

"Typically, improving conditions help us do the work of clearing the roads — however, with this storm, conditions were so bad that plow operators ended up having to make pass after pass along the snow emergency routes," spokesman Chris Demone said in a statement.

The Salisbury Police Department had responded to 285 calls for service as of Saturday. That included 14 car crashes and 129 disabled vehicles, Demone said.

Travel conditions wouldn't be "clear sailing" until Monday morning, he added.

On Virginia's Tangier Island, the Virginia National Guard was set to fly in relief supplies by helicopter Saturday afternoon. There are no roads leading to the island, which lies in the middle of the Chesapeake Bay, leaving it accessible only by air or water.

As of 2 p.m. Saturday, soldiers assigned to the Sandston-based 2nd Battalion, 224th Aviation Regiment, were preparing to pilot two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters from Richmond, said National Guard spokesman A.A. "Cotton" Puryear. 

Tangier has been nearly cut off from the outside world by thick sheets of ice, and many residents are running out of food and medicine, said Mayor James "Ooker" Eskridge.

“We’ve been through this before. Some people started to panic a little bit. Of course, the ones who need their medicine, I can understand that," he said.

More:Icebreaker a vital lifeline for frozen Smith Island

The National Guard last delivered emergency supplies to Tangier in February 2015.

A Coast Guard cutter ferried in the mail and some food Friday, but the trucks from the island's lone grocery store were unable to make it to the dock because of poor road conditions, Eskridge said.

“We’re iced up over here and we got quite a bit of snow. We didn’t expect it this early, but it came up on us pretty quick," he added.

Saturday morning's low of 7 degrees tied the all-time low recorded for that date back in 1981 for Salisbury, according to the National Weather Service. The forecast called for an even colder start to Sunday, with lows dipping to 3 degrees. The day's high is expected to be a bone-chilling 23.

All that arctic air caused water to seize inside pipes, resulting in four water main breaks, Demone said. Three had been repaired by Saturday, but a freshly broken pipe that morning at Riverside Drive near College Avenue left 25 homes without water. 

Some relief appears to be on the horizon for Monday, with temperatures creeping up to the low 40s. It's predicted to stay at least in the 40s for the next several days.

Most importantly, no snow appeared to be in the forecast for the foreseeable future.

In the meantime, the bay has become deadlocked with ice, forcing Tangier's renowned watermen to take an unplanned hiatus from dredging oysters. Some can't afford the loss of regular income, but they have no choice but to sit and wait out the weather, the island's mayor said.

“They’re sort of getting by day by day," he said.

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