Answers were blowing in the wind

Union County snow clearing crews couldn’t see the result of their work on several roads during the weekend. Consistent winds accompanied the 6 inches of snow, in some places, during Friday’s snowfall. Other parts of the county reported more than 6 inches.

“The wind blowing over the roads made it tough,” Union County Roads Superintendent Al Hysell told the county board of supervisors Monday.

Hysell said he or his department received multiple phone calls from county residents asking about when a snow plow would reach them. Hysell said Monday several of the roads were cleared during and later in the snow fall, but the winds blew snow back on the same roads forcing them to be plowed again.

“We have not had a strong of a storm like this in a long time,” he said.

The snow and road clearing efforts brought related challenges. Hysell said there were several medical-emergency related calls in the county. It was common for road clearing crews to be contacted to make sure the route needed to get to the emergency call was clear enough for first responders.

“The ambulance can’t get there until we get there,” he said. Snow reports in Lorimor were as much as 10 inches. Union County was still cleaning up from the 7 inches of snow Jan. 9.

Hysell said he recused some stranded motorists during the storm. Abandoned cars were also found. He said the livestock confinement facilities requested snow plows so feed supply trucks could reach the sites. Hysell said he expects the end of the week for some roads to be cleared enough for two lanes of traffic. Additional snow is forecast Thursday.

Knowing it’s mid-January, Hysell said the rest of winter will bring on additional issues. Knowing the quantity of snow in the past week, he said when temperatures reach above freezing and begin to melt, some roads may be difficult to travel because of mud. Then, at night when the temperature drops below freezing overnight, ruts could form causing rough conditions in places.

Hysell said he was grateful for the flow of communication among the county’s 911 dispatch center and law enforcement agencies about road conditions and emergency situations during and after the snow storm.

“911 dispatch was my answering machine,” he said.

The Arctic blast that brought the snow to Union County made its impact across the U.S. with bitter cold that set record-low temperatures in parts of the country, rescheduled an NFL playoff game and influenced first-in-the-nation presidential nominating contest in Iowa.

The National Weather Service said wind chills are expected to push down temperatures through at least midweek, possibly to 30 degrees below zero from the Northern Rockies to northern Kansas and into Iowa. Arctic storms have left at least four dead and knocked out electricity to tens of thousands in the Northwest, brought snow to the South and walloped the Northeast with blizzard conditions.

Associated Press contributed to this story.