The United States Postal Service says customers are responsible for clearing snow around their mailboxes.
The United States Postal Service is now requiring some residents to pick up their mail directly from the post office if their mailboxes remain inaccessible due to snow in southern New Hampshire.
"Last week was the worst I had ever seen," Salem resident Paul Jondle said. "One day, we got no mail at all, and I was expecting something very important."
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WATCH HEREThe USPS has been distributing notices to affected residents, complete with diagrams illustrating the customer's responsibility to clear snow from around their mailboxes.
"It's a situation that is largely my problem," said Nicholas Moschilli, a Windham resident. "My entire driveway was iced up even though it was salted and sanded."
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Many mailboxes remain buried under significant snow and ice, a lingering effect of the recent series of storms more than a week later.
"We've seen the snowbanks up as high as they've been in a while," said Thomas McPherson, Windham's interim town administrator.
"We haven't had problems like this since probably 2015, where just back-to-back storm, which built up the edge of the roads," added Salem Public Works Director Geoff Benson.
USPS spokesperson Steve Doherty issued a statement saying it's the customer's responsibility to clear a path for postal workers.
"Carriers aren't required to climb over a snowbank or dig to find a mailbox," Doherty wrote via email Monday. "In those rare cases, mail will be held at the Post Office until delivery can safely be made."
Moschilli, like many others, is experiencing delays.
"I'm trying to get my mail today, but service is a little slower than I want," he said.
Local officials in Windham and Salem are reassuring residents that they are ready to assist.
"If there is a problem and a resident's been informed of it, all they've got to do is give us a call and we'll address it," McPherson said.
"If you have a problem, please feel free to report it, and we'll send a foreman out, or whoever's available, to go check on, see if there's something we can do to help," Benson said.
Both town officials are optimistic that the situation will improve soon, with temperatures expected to rise into the forties throughout the week, aiding in snow melt.
