The first storm of 2014 is on its way out, but not before it dropped over a foot of snow on Wareham and the rest of southern Massachusetts.

NSTAR is reported only one customer outage in Wareham during the storm.

Wareham public schools, town hall, the multi-service center and the library will be closed on Friday, Jan. 3 and a parking ban is in effect for the town due to the snowstorm.

According to a statement on the town's website, "When an emergency snow plowing proclamation has been issued, vehicles parked on the public way must be removed in order to avoid damage to said vehicles and expedite plowing and sanding operations."

The ban does not apply to Main Street in Wareham -- from Chapel Street to Tobey Hospital -- and Onset Avenue in Onset -- from West Central Avenue to Onset Pier. The lifted ban takes place between the hours of 7:45 a.m. and 6 p.m.

Due to the storm, Southcoast Health System's Wareham locations will have several cancelations and closings.

There are two Southcoast Physician Group Practices that have been affected by the storm.
Wareham Surgical/Southcoast Center for Weight Loss will be open at noon today.

The Diabetes Management at Rosebrook in Wareham will be closed on Friday, January 3.The Diabetes Management Program will resume normal scheduling on Monday January 6, at 8 a.m.

The Breastfeeding Support Group scheduled for Jan. 3 at Rosebrook has been cancelled.

Rosebrook’s outpatient facilities for Radiology, EKG, Pulmonary function tests, and ECHO services at will resume at noon today. Also reopening at noon today will be Tobey Rehab.
In the last of cancelations, Tobey Hospital’s cardiopulmonary rehab services have been cancelled and will resume at 6 a.m. on Saturday, Jan. 4.

Beyond school closings, Wareham Public Schools will be rescheduling an event.

The annual College Homecoming for Wareham High School alumni originally scheduled for Friday afternoon has been rescheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 7 from 12:45 p.m. to 2 p.m. in the high school auditorium. Alumni presently in college are invited to share their experience with high school seniors.

The parking ban states that any vehicle or object in the public way, if not removed within one hour after the beginning of a storm, will be subject to removal at the owner’s expense.

"Residents who contract with private snow plowers to plow their driveway are cautioned not to have the snow pushed out onto the roadway, or in a manner that covers or blocks access to fire hydrants," the statement reads.

If snow pushed in the roadway must be removed by town workers the resident will be billed for the expense incurred.

According to the statement, "The parking ban will remain in effect during snow removal operations and will be cancelled when the Director of Municipal Maintenance has determined that the streets have been properly cleaned."

Have some photos of the wintry tundra that Wareham has bceome? Send them to Liam@warehamweek.com or Bill@warehamweek.com.