Leader Staff
Leader Photo by Greg Mellis Snow quickly covers a pickup truck that slid off Old 47 Tuesday about 9:45 a.m. Nearly 30 accidents were reported by mid-afternoon.
A relentless band of heavy snow that lingered for most of the day brought a virtual standstill to all but essential services and plow drivers Tuesday.
The storm forced early school closings and event cancellations throughout the area and was a factor in at least 29 county traffic accidents between 6:40 a.m. and mid-afternoon.
The Shawano County Sheriff’s Department said none of those accidents involved injuries.
“We’ve had a lot of cars in the ditch,” Chief Deputy John Gutho said.
Highway and public works crews went into triage mode, making heavily traveled roads their first priorities.
Assistant Shawano County Highway Commissioner Casey Beyersdorf said keeping state Highway 29 open was first on the county’s list.
“We can’t risk a plug-up on that road,” he said.
A brief warm-up of temperatures in the days before the storm caused a thin layer of ice to form when the snow hit, adding to the treacherous conditions on Highway 29, “where the traffic speeds are already higher than they should be,” Beyersdorf said.
Beyersdorf said crews would continue plowing through the night on Highway 29, after the Department of Transportation requested 24-hour service for the road.
Crews planned to knock off around 9 p.m. for the other roads and start on them again in the morning.
The Highway Department had 41 plows out Tuesday; 14 of them on Highway 29, 14 on county roads and the rest making the rounds of town roads. Even the department’s staff of five mechanics were out driving plows Tuesday, along with three on-call drivers from the department’s management staff.
“You have to have the mentality to stay steady and slow,” Beyersdorf said, rather than reacting to the storm in a panic and racing all over.
“Slow is smooth and smooth is fast,” he said.
Beyersdorf said the drivers often don’t get the kudos they deserve for putting in their 16- or 17-hour days.
“If it weren’t for the talent, experience and skill of dedicated staff, this would be a lot more difficult,” Beyersdorf said.
Shawano Public Works Director Eddie Sheppard said the constant snowfall was tough to keep up with, but that crews managed well given the conditions.
“Traffic is moving,” he said.
Sheppard said there were several cars in ditches, primarily on East Green Bay Street where some drivers apparently missed their targeted driveways.
The weather seemed to be keeping some traffic off the streets.
“There’s not so many people out,” Sheppard said.
Heavily traveled routes in the city like Green Bay and Main streets got top priority, along with emergency and school routes, Sheppard said.
Green Bay Street took some doubling up of plows and it wasn’t until the afternoon that crews were able to start hitting residential streets, he said.
Schools closed early, many of them calling it a day around noon, and after-school activities were cancelled. Most area clubs and organizations called off their plans for the evening.
Shawano city and county government offices remained open, but some employees were allowed to leave early.
It was also business as usual at City Hall, and apparently not all city residents were overly fazed by the weather. The staff at City Hall reported one man came in to conduct city business wearing a pair of shorts.
Nearly eight inches of snow was reported by Tuesday evening, with an additional two to four inches still in the forecast overnight.
The city of Clintonville declared a snow emergency that remains in effect until noon Wednesday. The emergency means cars may not park on city streets.