2/12: Snow Emergency Declared

All City of Madison streets will be plowed starting at midnight.  A snow emergency has been declared.  Alternate side parking will be effect for the entire City of Madison tonight.

Citywide plowing takes 12 to 14 hours to complete.

Travel will be snowy and difficult, especially in the afternoon and early evening as the storm is expected to increase in intensity.  Be ready for snowy, and slippery roads.  Your Thursday morning commute may be impacted as well as the citywide plowing work may still be ongoing.

There is a lot of information to cover.  Use the headers below to help understand the different phases of our response.

What We Did This Morning

The Streets Division’s response to the storm began at 7:30am when the flakes began to fall.  Plow trucks were out to plow and salt the main thoroughfares as needed.  Additional trucks were also dispatched with sand for non-salt route areas that may become slippery.  They were primarily working with our trash and recycling collection crews to ensure these pickups happened without interruption.

For This Afternoon and into the Evening

From 3:00pm to midnight, crews will continue working on the salt routes.  Crews will be plowing and applying salt as needed to the 782 miles of traffic lanes that make up the main thoroughfares.

When applying salt, the threshold where it is effective is around 20 degrees.  While air temperatures are below that line, pavement temperatures are expected to be at or slightly above 20 degrees according to our sensors.  With conditions being on this borderline of salt’s effectiveness, it will be slower to work, but it will still work.

During the late afternoon into the typical evening rush hour time, snow is expected to intensify. Travel will get worse.

With all of these conditions coalescing, be ready for a slow, snowy, and slippery commute.  Remember to make good choices while out in this challenging weather. Be slow. Be alert. Be patient.  Allow for additional travel time to arrive at your destinations on time.

A plow truck takes at least three hours to complete a lap through their assigned salt route.  The plows get slower when traffic and conditions get worse; our trucks get hung up in the same city congestion as everyone else. When storms are active (and long lasting), roads will get snowy and slick because as plows loop through their routes, the fresh snow covers over their work, and it just takes time until the plow can come back to address any newly fallen snow.

Citywide Plowing Starts at Midnight; If You Must Park on the Street, Follow Alternate Side Parking Rules Tonight

The storm is expected to wane around midnight.  We will begin our plowing operation at that time.

Approximately 150 pieces of equipment will be out plowing every City of Madison street.  Crews will be from the Streets Division, the Urban Forestry section of Streets, and partner City Public Works agencies, like the Parks and Engineering Divisions.  Also, we receive critical assistance from heavy equipment contractors who help plow many residential areas, too.

Since a snow emergency is in effect, everyone who parks on the road must follow alternate side parking rules from 1am to 7am, including people who park within the Snow Emergency Zone.  If possible, please choose off-street parking options instead. Additional details about alternate side parking rules can be found on the City of Madison winter website.

Do not put your trash and recycling carts in the street for your Thursday pickup.  Carts in the road are another obstacle for plows, just like a parked car.

Remember, snow emergencies are two-night events so plows can clear both sides of the road.

When plowing a street curb-to-curb, you will get snow at the end of your driveway.  Plow drivers are not doing this on purpose.  It’s just the physics of snowplowing.  Plows work by pushing snow from the road to the side of the street.  They ride as close as possible to the curb to keep snow as wide as possible to keep them open and safe for travel.  As they drive forward snow builds up on the plow because the curb traps it there. Each time they pass a space where the curb disappears, snow falls into that gap. Driveway aprons, crosswalk ramps, and other spaces like this all receive snow falling from the plow.  It’s understandable why it’s frustrating.  No one enjoys this.   However, to plow the streets as quickly as we do with the equipment we have, snow in the driveway is unavoidable.

When will your street be plowed and more information

The citywide plowing will begin at midnight.  It takes 12 to 14 hours for every street to be plowed.  Your street may not be plowed until sometime close to noon on Thursday.

Why does it take that long? Madison has over 1,800 miles of traffic lanes to plow. That’s like driving from here to the Mojave Desert in California.  It just takes a lot of time to cover that much distance even with 150 trucks.  Crews will be working quickly and safely – but it still takes several hours.

No one is assigned to be first or last when the City is plowed.  The City is divided into over 60 sub-areas, and each area is assigned equipment. The plowing all starts at the same time.

Streets Division staff will be monitoring the roads and the weather.  Our operations will adjust as weather conditions require it.

And, finally if you have not already done so, remember to vote in the snowplow name election that is currently open on the Wisconsin Salt Wise page.