WORCESTER, Mass. (WHDH) -- Worcester saw heavy snow Wednesday -- enough to have people pulling out shovels and plows. The blustery conditions even brought the evening commute to a crawl.

The whipping winds made for tedious work on sidewalks; minutes after crews shoveled and sanded, they had to return.

“Since everything’s blowing back on the walkways and are freezing up again…I’ve probably done it three or four times since it started. Just so nobody slips,” said Tyler Ferraro, landscaper.

The city of Worcester didn't want to be caught off guard, so it had plows ready to go and utility companies were armed with tree crews set to tackle the timber buckled by high winds.

The landscaping trucks had to do a quick switch; just hours before they weren't hauling salt, but leaves.

“I do landscaping and we were still full force doing leaves until today,” said Ferraro.

The sounds of winter are a familiar for New Englanders -- they just didn't think they'd be hearing them so loudly so early in the season.