Tim Ryan, tryan@shawanoleader.com
Leader Photo by Greg Mellis Snow drifts blow across a desolate County Road BE near Shawano as snow begins to fall Thursday morning. The storm was expected to drop about 3 inches of snow on the area.
Mother Nature temporarily traded in bitter cold for heavy snow Thursday, with a storm that seemed to clock in and out in sync with daytime office hours.
The snow put in a roughly eight-hour day, arriving in time for the morning commute and knocking off shortly before late afternoon rush hour, without any breaks in between. The storm dropped more than three inches as it moved through the area, according to some estimates.
The timing of the storm provided an extra challenge for city and county plow drivers.
“Operators have their hands full with the amount of traffic,” Shawano County Highway Commissioner Grant Bystol said.
“They just have to stay on their toes,” he said. “They’re doing a fine job.”
Bystol said visibility was poor for a while late Thursday morning, but improved as the day went on.
He said crews hope to get as much of the snow cleaned up as possible Thursday night before temperatures drop again.
City plow drivers, meanwhile, had not only routine traffic to contend with, but also parked cars that prevented plow drivers from clearing snow in some places.
“Daytime plowing is probably the worst for the city,” said Jim Schoenhofen, Department of Public Works operations director. “We’ve got to go back into certain areas where cars are parked.”
Despite the added daytime obstacles, plowing went well Thursday, according to Schoenhofen.
“The equipment is holding up and the crews are doing a great job,” he said.
Schoenhofen said crews would be out until about 7 p.m. and would start up again at 2 a.m. Friday.
The snow also caused the usual hazards for area motorists.
The Sheriff’s Department had logged 13 weather-related accidents by 3 p.m.