Snow Plowing Update: January 17, 2026 (6:46pm)
Bottom Line
Snowy and slick roads will remain throughout Madison tonight as snowfall persisted. Streets Division plows will be on the roads all through the night and morning. Temperatures will be too cold for salt, so only sand will be used. And more snow is expected on Sunday.
Deployment & Weather Details
Following the citywide plowing operation this afternoon, Streets Division plows worked on maintaining the salt routes throughout the day and other maintenance work.
The snowfall today has been light and seemingly unrelenting. The snow slowly covered residential areas that were plowed earlier in the day, and never really gave the salt time to completely clear the main routes (adding to that, it was quite cold today, which also slows salt down).
Streets Division staff will be working throughout the rest of this evening, all through the night, and through the morning to continue the response from this storm.
Temperatures Too Cold to Salt
As the evening sets in, pavement temperatures will drop below 20 degrees as air temperatures head toward single digits.
When temperatures get that cold, the chemical process where traditional rock salt turns snow back into liquid water slows down considerably, and spreading salt at our application rate would not be effective.
When temperatures get this cold, plows switch to applying sand where needed to help with traction.
What to Expect Tonight & Tomorrow Morning
You should expect snow-covered and slippery roads.
Main thoroughfares may have tracks through the snow, but not completely bare pavement curb-to-curb. Turn lanes and intersections may be slippery and snowy.
Residential areas will be snow-covered. While they were all plowed during the citywide snowplowing effort, today’s persistent light snowfall covered the plowed streets with a fresh layer of snow.
Please remember to be cautious, alert, and slow when you travel through Madison. And make good choices.
Give yourself plenty of extra travel time. Anticipate your stops and turns so you do not slide. Do not crowd the plows, or each other.
Looking Ahead
Forecasts show more snow tomorrow (1/18), perhaps starting in late morning and lasting into the early evening.
As we have seen with the snowfall over the last two days, though, we could certainly see something a little different than initially predicted as fronts shift, snow cells pop-up & linger, and Midwest weather just does Midwest weather things. So it goes.
Streets Division staff will be monitoring the roads and the weather around the clock. Operations will adjust as conditions require. Future updates will be provided.
