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Friday, March 1, was the first day of meteorological spring, but the mercury in the thermometer and the ever-growing snow piles on the ground tell another story.
While the long winter has created hardships on many fronts, some obvious complications are surfacing on city streets.
Piled high boulevards — upwards of 6 to 10 feet high in some places — and narrow pathways on sidewalks give residential neighborhoods a Dr. Seuss-like appearance with a less-than storybook effect on dwellers.
Luverne public works employee Cory Schmuck said he realizes the extra snow has been hard on people cleaning their own driveways. “When our plows get full, it has nowhere to go until it hits a driveway.”
He said under normal circumstances the plow pushes the snow onto boulevards, but with snow banks piled high, that’s no longer an option.
By ordinance, residents are required to clear their walks 24 hours after a snow event. In addition to keeping track of their sidewalks, residents have had to keep their vehicles off the street in snow emergencies, which have been frequent this year.
The Sheriff’s Department issued 20 parking tickets so far this winter.
He said the 10-12 guys in the city’s Public Works Department have been working full time on snow removal since the last big snow event on Feb. 20 that dropped more than 10 inches.
“That day we plowed one round, turned around and plowed again,” Schmuck said. “Everybody did their routes twice that day.”
And then more snow fell that weekend, and another several inches fell last week.
“We haven’t stopped,” Schmuck said. “We’ve been hauling snow, widening streets, cleaning streets, cutting corners …”
Schmuck said the city’s fleet of snow removal equipment has been getting a workout. It includes four trucks, two pay loaders, a motor grader, a skid loader and two lawn mowers equipped with a broom and blower.
Each time it snows, all this equipment is deployed. A large snow blower is later employed for cleanup rounds.
Schmuck said Public Works employees also spend time maintaining and repairing the equipment — changing cutting edges, replacing sheered pins, etc. — to keep it all moving.
On Tuesday, because there hadn’t been new snow for a few days, the crews began cutting down intersections so motorists could safely proceed around corners that had been compromised by high snow banks.
Even that wasn’t a minor task.
“It’s taking about four truckloads per intersection,” Schmuck said Tuesday around noon. “And we’re doing every intersection on the major streets, like Dodge, Cedar, North East Park and some others that get heavy traffic.”
Where is all the snow going? “Well …” Schmuck said. “That’s a good question.”
The go-to spot for piling snow is on the west bank of the Rock River behind Redbird Field.
This year, that’s the spot to haul snow from downtown.
Schmuck estimates about 200 truckloads were hauled from downtown alone after the last snow event.
Other snow piles from hauled loads are accumulating on the east end of Phyleon Drive, on the soccer fields west of the school, and on several city-owned lots around town that aren’t yet developed.
Schmuck, who has worked with the city for 23 years, said he doesn’t remember a winter like this one since 1997.
“That year they pulled me off the garbage route to move snow for the winter,” he said.
With the snowiest month still ahead, it’s too early to assess winter totals and damages, but as the calendar stretches into March, the severity of the last two months is coming into focus.
For perspective, the DNR issued its fish house removal deadlines this week and anglers are having trouble getting them off the snow-covered lakes.
Typically the danger this time of year is melting ice and structures falling through.
Another point of reference for spring: JJ’s Tasty Freeze in Luverne announced it will open for the season on Thursday, March 7.