According to Webster’s Dictionary, a nor’easter is defined as “a storm with northeast winds.”

If Town of Norwich Highway Superintendent Stan Foulds had it his way, Monday’s version of the Altantic-born squall would be better described if it were simply called a mess.

“It’s crazy,” said Foulds. “We were pretty prepared. But it’s a mess out there.”

By 1 p.m. Monday, over 13 hours worth of wet and heavy snowfall – varying between 8 to 12 inches in most places – had knocked down trees and power lines across Chenango County, closing roads and leaving 8,400 people without electricity. As of 4:45 p.m. a Red Cross shelter had been set up at the Plymouth Fire Department on state Route 23 due to the 690 extended power outages in the township.

According to City of Norwich Emergency Officer A. Wesley Jones, a large majority of the NYSEG customers in Plymouth and elsewhere were restored power by 7 p.m., but a handful throughout the county might not be turned back on again until noon Thursday.

“In the NYSEG region, we received the brunt of it,” Jones said. “The wet and heavy snow caused havoc.”

Sloppy road conditions were blamed for at least two motor vehicle accidents; a two-car collision on the East River Road in Norwich involving a Baldwinsville man and a woman from Johnson City; and a one-car crash on county Route 3A in Smithville. The county Sheriff’s Office reported no injuries or tickets as a result of either incident.

According to the National Weather Service in Binghamton, Monday’s 11.7 inches of snowfall shattered the previous April 16 record of 6.9 inches, set back in 1983. The accumulation also slipped past 11.5 inches – the most snow for any one day in April – which had stood for 47 years (April 9, 1960).

Just five years ago Monday, the high temperature was 85 degrees.

Lifetime county resident and Guilford Town Supervisor Al Doyle doesn’t remember a storm like this occurring in April – but he does in May.