Blizzard bears down on Washington

    The National Weather Service is predicting blowing snow in Washington County beginning Tuesday night and continuing through Wednesday. Roughly 3 inches of snow are in the forecast for Tuesday alone, with a chance of precipitation of 90 percent. City and county officials are doing what they can to prepare for the blizzard.

    County Engineer David Patterson said the county is prepared for the blizzard and that it simply has to wait for the snow to fall before it can do anything. The Iowa DOT sprays roads with salt brine when the roads are expected to freeze. The brine helps the salt adhere to the road, which prevents ice from forming on the road. However, Patterson said brine is expensive and there is not room in the county?s budget for it. He said putting normal salt on the roads before a freeze doesn?t do any good.

    ?The cars kick the salt in the air and the wind blows it away,? said Patterson.

    The blowing snow is what makes a blizzard so dangerous, and also so frustrating for county officials fighting to get the snow off the road. Patterson said that it is not the amount of snow that creates the problem. He said moving 2 inches of snow requires as much as time as moving 6 inches of snow. The problem arises when snow is blown back onto the road after the road has already been cleared.

    ?Blowing snow can negate a whole day?s worth of work pretty quickly,? said Patterson. ?Driving can become very difficult in conditions of blowing snow.?

    Some roads are affected more by blizzards than others. Patterson said that geography plays a role in determining how much snow a road receives. He mentioned that Old Highway 218, approximately one-half mile east of new 218, is especially difficult to clear when the wind is blowing.

    ?Old 218 has high banks on either side of it which allows drifts to form on the road when the wind is blowing,? said Patterson. ?That?s one of the roads we?re worried about in the event of a blizzard. The road was built in the 1920s to accomodate Model Ts, not for modern vehicles.?

For the full article, see the Dec. 7 edition of the Washington Evening Journal.