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Here We Go Again - winter storms #2 and #3 Wed-Fri 1/10 thru 1/12

My end of driveway pile is...substantial. My vehicles were buried...kicking myself for not brooming them off yesterday. My pickup had a drift that went from the bed cover up over the cab roof. It was shaped like an Oldsmobile Aurora.

I've been outside about a half hour so far this morning, haven't seen one single vehicle go by. And I live close enough to US30 where I can usually hear the roar of traffic...nothing this morning.

Looking at the 511 website, I'd say if you asked the IDOT how many plows are out currently, they'd reply "all of them" - pretty much the entire state is blanketed with plows.
 
DSM airport is at 22.5" this month. The record at that location (dating back to 1940) is 23.4" (1996). The all-time DSM record dating back to 1885 was 37.0" in 1886. There's nothing else even close to that.
 
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Glad I went out yesterday and got rid of most of it. Today we have a small drift outside the garage….but I could get the truck out if needed….and today is a day of football and drinks so…no hurry to finish cleaning.
 
Because it is hard for the plows to move jackknifed semis

And you get out into the country, there really isn't anything from stopping ANY wind to drift this latest round of lighter snow. And given the first two storms more or less filled all the ditches/low spots, there's less areas for blown snow to settle into, making the drifting even worse.

So...they have to plow a highway - then plow it again, then plow it again, then plow it again...

If one were to go to the 511 site and check the road plows location checkmark, one will see that there are plows out literally everywhere in the state - and they've been doing this work pretty much non-stop for 5 days now.
 
I’m still waiting on the service I pay for to plow my drive and sidewalks. I’ll give him until tomorrow or else 💪🏿💪🏿💪🏿
 
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FFS get these elephants on roller skates off the damn highways during an severe blizzard event. The companies directing or allowing these 20+ ton wrecking machines to slip and slide through this crap should face serious civil liability. It is negligent, if not downright reckless, in these conditions. Amazing that no one has died on the roads yet today. If I were governor or AG, I'd test the legality of shutting down highways completely to nonemergency traffic and pursuing civil suits against those who cause serious damage without a damn good reason to be out there. People and corporations are just too stupid or selfish to police themselves on this. Sorry this just really grinds my gears.
Some states are very proactive about shutting down commercial truck traffic, Pennsylvania as an example.
 
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And you get out into the country, there really isn't anything from stopping ANY wind to drift this latest round of lighter snow. And given the first two storms more or less filled all the ditches/low spots, there's less areas for blown snow to settle into, making the drifting even worse.

So...they have to plow a highway - then plow it again, then plow it again, then plow it again...

If one were to go to the 511 site and check the road plows location checkmark, one will see that there are plows out literally everywhere in the state - and they've been doing this work pretty much non-stop for 5 days now.
Iowa has a good DOT site. I clicked on that a few times last night. Real time updates and what they are doing, plow cameras, too. At times you can see the trucks pulled, or drivers swapping out, or hitting the barn to reload.
 
Iowa has a good DOT site. I clicked on that a few times last night. Real time updates and what they are doing, plow cameras, too. At times you can see the trucks pulled, or drivers swapping out, or hitting the barn to reload.

I live pretty close to the maintenance complex they have on Kirkwood Blvd/Miller Ave in CR. Every night this week they've been all lit up - it's been around the clock since Monday night. With the low cloud cover, the light reflects down - I'd look out my window and I could see everything in my neighborhood pretty clearly.

Those guys are working hard this week. Long ass days for certain.
 
Us too. They showed up at 8:30 Wednesday morning for Monday’s snow. They should have been here by now to clear Thursdays snow.
I’m being patient just because this is one of the more wild storms where counties are taking plows off the road haha. I’ll probably give a call tomorrow morning if I don’t wake up to it plowed tho
 
I’ve been on an ambulance since noon Friday as we put on extra crews. It hasn’t been too bad. The Jack knifed semis are a pain in the ass. It’s so hard to get to them. The snow plow drivers have been killing it but the wind is nuts. This is far southeast iowa.
 
I'm sorta too young to feel this ****ing old.

Just wasted 3 hours digging the stuck car out of the opening of one alley and then digging a path down the main alley to home. Somebody plowed the side streets but left big snowbanks at the end of the alleys that then froze and more blowing snow piled on.


**** you El Nino. Thought you were supposed to make sure we wouldn't deal with snowstorms this severe this winter.
 
I shoveled twice yesterday and it was bad both times. This mornin the end of the driveway was so bad from the plows and nowhere to put it. Bad by the garage too. And the sidewalks were worse than ever. I got it all cleared but the sidewalks are gone again. It is -8 with a feels like -33. We need to get to Coralville tomorrow but I’m not sure if that will work.
 
I’m being patient just because this is one of the more wild storms where counties are taking plows off the road haha. I’ll probably give a call tomorrow morning if I don’t wake up to it plowed tho
That’s our plan. Our youngest has a dance competition at 11 in Johnston that hasn’t cancelled yet. I’m getting stir crazy being stuck at home so Mr. Birch will be clearing it if the company doesn’t.
 
Holy drifting snow! I cleared my driveway twice today and it's drifted over once again. I do love my Honda blower though. It just eats and eats and eats snow.
 
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The scope of the storms is amazing. This whole week has been amazingly bad for weather. I-5 in NorCal closed to truck traffic right now. Oregon getting ripped. Stretches of 5 and 84, and all the passes between 5 and US 97 getting creamed. Washington getting creamed.
 
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