Snow creates chaos, then disappears

ODESSA – It was not a white Christmas exactly, but snow did arrive in a big way as the New Year approached. Odessa and surrounding areas received up to six inches of the white stuff on Dec. 29-30, as temperatures hovered right around freezing. Town and rural residents faced an arduous task as they dug their way out. Rising daytime temperatures provided a drizzle of rain that made the snow extremely heavy (by weight). Town crews worked feverishly all day on Dec. 30 to clear the main byways in town, while state and county crews hit the rural roads. By dusk on that Wednesday, travel was a bit eas...