Snow Plowing Update: January 8, 2024

From the City of Madison:

Due to the severity of the upcoming storm, the Streets Division is sharing the below Snow Plow Update to individuals who have signed up to receive Snow Emergency updates. If you would like to receive more updates like this below, please sign up to receive Snow Plow updates from the City of Madison winter website.

The upcoming winter storm will be challenging. The storm will produce a significant amount of heavy, dense snow.  Where roadways are passable, they will be slippery.  Streets Division crews will be responding around the clock to this event – but be prepared to alter your plans.

When the storm gets underway tonight, the Streets Division will have 36 plows out focusing on the salt routes. 

Trash, recycling, and drop-off sites have been cancelled for January 9, 2023.  The additional staff plus normal Streets Division crews will all be devoted to performing snow control duties throughout the day.

The storm is expected to intensify by the start of the normal Tuesday morning commute and remain strong through the entire day, leaving Madison with a deep accumulation of heavy, wet snow by the evening time.  Forecasts show that at 7am Madison may have around 1 to 3 inches of snow on the ground, and then by the night, the accumulation could be anywhere between 8 to 12 inches by some forecast models. 

The additional staff will be focusing on keeping the main thoroughfares of the city open throughout the long-lasting and intense storm.

As a reminder, residential areas are not plowed until the storm is at or near its end.  This storm will make travel through residential areas very difficult at best, especially if you do not have a vehicle appropriate to handle deep snow.  Please consider this when making your travel decisions.  If you do choose to attempt travel during this severe storm, make good choices. 

The roads will be very slippery at best.  Due to warm pavement temperatures and wet snow, these are conditions that can create slick, greasy-like roads.  As fresh snow falls on melting snow, that exacerbates the slipperiness.  Remember to anticipate your stops and turns so you do not slide. Do not drive too fast for conditions. Be patient, alert, and slow on your travels if you must travel. 

All information does point to a citywide plowing event as a result of this storm; however, when that operation will commence is not yet known. 

Streets staff will also be monitoring the roads and the weather.  Operations will adjust should road or weather conditions require it.