Following Historic Storms, Cleanup Expected to Last Through Week

Following historic back-to-back storms that dropped nearly 30 inches of snow on North Liberty in five days, including periods of 2 inches of snow per hour, as well as two days of blizzard conditions and temperatures dropping below zero, snow removal crews expect to spend the week continuing to clean up streets and trails and haul snow and ice. As of the morning of Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2024, the Iowa Department of Transportation lists all of its roads in Johnson County as completely or partially snow and ice covered on 511ia.org.

While the low temperatures make our de-icing agents less effective, crews will continue to use some on areas of hard-packed snow as the sun and gradually rising temperatures help loosen snow and ice on our roadways. Next week’s expected above-normal temperatures will further improve conditions.

Meanwhile, continued snow clearing will impact intersections, driveways and other entrances. Plows work by pushing snow to the edges of the roadway where snow falls off the blades as it meets less resistance, which can unfortunately require additional clearing for property owners.

Cleanup can also mean attending to mailboxes and other property hit by flying snow. Damage can be reported via email and crews will build a list for work following the priority snow clearing.

Crews will also begin hauling snow out of cul-de-sacs and dead ends, which have seen a buildup of snow over the past week, towards the end of the week. Cul-de-sacs and dead-end streets are less efficient to clear because they don’t allow plows to push snow through to open areas and are lower priority because they carry lower traffic volumes.

The good news is that warming temperatures, including potentially above freezing days next week, will aid in clean up of these storms. The melting snow, however, can lead to flooded streets; residents are encouraged to help clear ice dams from stormwater intakes.