- Snow combined with gusty winds made things tricky for drivers and workers in Jackson Monday.
- Drifting snow made driving conditions uneven.
- Road crews said it wasn't easy to gauge how much snow had fallen and what to do to keep roads drivable.
Bands of wind and snow...
"It all, all transpired in about probably an hour, it felt that quick," notes Nick Klotz, President of EPM Professional Grounds Services.
So-called "lake effect" conditions made it a tricky day for Jackson motorists and road crews.
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"We have our crews trained pretty well to know what to do under what condition, but they don't know what conditions they're walking into," said Klotz.
Crews were out on Monday, working to keep the roads clear and the water flowing. As snow began to fall, accompanied by gusty winds that had started the night before, things got rather dicey in my Jackson neighborhood.
"I'd call this "lake effect". It's unpredictable from, you know, the snow is pretty decent where we stand right now. We'd go one mile South of here, one mile North of here, and there could be next to nothing," said Klotz.
Crews contended with gusty winds all day long — the winds pushing snow back onto driveways and roadways.
"I mean, we haven't probably seen a heck of a lot of accumulation — maybe an inch or so. It's just tough to tell exactly what we've gotten because the wind's blowing it around so much," said Klotz.
Creating unpredictable conditions for motorists and road crews alike.
What does the wind do for a situation like this? I asked him.
"Oh, it's a nuisance....You could have, you know, four inches up against a building or on a curb line and, you know, just trace accumulation in a parking lot," said Klotz.
Has the wind made it difficult to work? I asked a crew from Brothers Outdoor World salting a parking lot. "It was making some drifts," they said.
Here on the 700 block of Union Street, workers were fixing a water main that had ruptured, affecting homes up and down the block.
What's it like working in this weather? I asked.
"Well, it's not peaches and cream, I can tell you that," said the back-hoe operator.
Conditions like these requiring extra care — whether venturing out, or on the job.
"With the wind blowing it around and lake effects, you know, conditions could be completely different one mile south, one mile north of here," said Klotz.
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