1/21: Snowplowing Update for January 22

Forecasts are calling for a light snow for Wednesday, January 22. It may begin around 5am when temperatures are too cold for salt to work at the application rate used by the Streets Division. Be prepared to encounter snowy roads with some slick spots on your morning commute.

Streets Division crews will be out on the main thoroughfares when the snow gets underway. Crews will be working on the main thoroughfares.  These are the 782 miles of traffic lanes that we call our salt routes.

While snow is expected to start at a time when air and pavement temperatures are too cold for salt, by noon, they are expected to warm to right around 20 degrees. This is the temperature threshold where salt at the rate used by the Streets Division begins to work most effectively.

Please be slow and make good choices while commuting through Madison tomorrow in the snow.  Stay alert. Stay patient. And give yourself a little extra travel time to get to your destinations on time.

In early stages of the storm when temperatures are at its coldest, it should not be very much snow on the road according to the forecasts – but it could be enough to make things slick and disrupt your travel. 

Also, the light snow has a chance to linger through the entire day.

With all that said, by Wisconsin standards, this is expected to be a relatively minor snowstorm with around a half-inch of snow accumulation total.  And since it is a small storm, the non-salt routes areas of the City will not be plowed. (As a reminder, the non-salt route areas, which are mostly low speed, low traffic residential areas, are only plowed when there are three or more inches of snow accumulated on the roads and the storm is at or near its end.)

Streets Division staff will be monitoring the roads and weather.  If conditions change, operations will adjust to match.