20-year storm blankets area with snow

    The blizzard that was predicted for Washington County Tuesday night lived up to expectations. Roughly 10 inches of snowfall was recorded Tuesday night through Wednesday morning, to go along with wind gusts as high as 50 mph. The inclement weather forced the closure of several area schools and prevented the Washington minibus from operating at all. A tow ban was also issued for Wednesday because of the dangerous driving conditions. 

    Brian Nash, the city maintenance construction superintendent, asked that all cars be removed from the downtown area to make it convenient for maintenance officials to plow the streets. He said that when cars are left on the street, snow crews have to return to those areas once the cars have been moved. Nash also recommended that residents get their vehicles off any city street to make things easier for the snow crews.

    Nash said his 10 maintenance employees were sent out at 2 a.m. Wednesday morning and will continue working until approximately 4 p.m. Wednesday afternoon. After taking a break, they will resume plowing at 2 a.m. Thursday morning, beginning with the downtown area and then moving to the other priority streets and the residential neighborhoods.  

    Despite the efforts of city staff, a number of streets remain slippery in town. Nash said that is because mild temperatures caused ice to form on the roads and topped off with a layer of snow. He said that the east-west roads on the edge of town such as Fifth, 11th and 15th have been the most difficult to keep clean of snow. However, he noted that the snow fence that was just completed a week ago ameliorated the problem of drifting snow on those streets.  

For the full article, see the Dec. 9 edition of the Washington Evening Journal.