November 28, 2025: Snow Plowing Update
A severe snowstorm will hit our area on Saturday, November 29:
Bottom Line:
Plows will be out starting at midnight tonight and they will be circling through the salt routes throughout the storm. Traveling through the city will be difficult at best throughout Saturday and Sunday. Be slow and patient in your travels. Citywide plowing is expected to occur at some point following this storm, more details will be provided in future updates.
About the Initial Response
Forecasts show the snowstorm starting around midnight this evening and then not stopping until sometime Sunday morning.
Streets Division plows will be dispatched to the main thoroughfares at midnight tonight.
The trucks will be plowing and salting these roads. And they will cycle through these routes again and again the entire time it is snowing.
The main thoroughfares are the roads used by Madison Metro for bus routes, and they are the roads around hospitals, fire stations, police stations, and other important roadways.
Thirty-two plows will be dispatched to maintain the 32 salt route routes. It takes about 3 hours to perform one complete circuit. Like any other vehicle, plows are slowed by poor weather and traffic, so as conditions worsen their lap time also slows down.
About the Weather & What You Should Expect on the Roads
Forecasts show the storm starting around midnight with it picking up intensity around 7am and continuing with some verve until well into the evening.
This will make travel very challenging all day long and into the night.
Plows will be out on the main roads plowing and salting. Plows do not prevent snow from piling up on the roads when it is actively snowing, and salt does not work instantly. It all takes time.
Since it will be snowing continuously all day long, you will encounter snow-covered and slippery roads in Madison.
Residential areas will have deeper snow on them.
Be prepared. Evaluate if you truly need to travel during this harsh weather.
When you are using the roads, be slow, be alert, and be patient. Do not follow other vehicles too closely. Even four-wheel drive or all-wheel drive vehicles will slide if you brake too hard or turn too quickly. It is especially dangerous when you drive too fast for these conditions.
In general, please, make good choices if you head out onto the roadways.
When will all the streets be plowed?
Madison streets are plowed when the storm is at or near its end and there is three or more inches of snow accumulated on the road.
All forecasts show us hitting the snow depth threshold easily. But the exact timing of when the citywide plowing will get underway has not yet been settled.
We will publish more information on Saturday about when the citywide plowing will get underway.
Streets Division drop-off sites closed on 11/29/25 & 11/30/25
To help with staffing our snowstorm response, we are closing the drop-off sites on Saturday and Sunday.
We will be looking to schedule a make-up weekend for these lost days.
We published a release announcing this information.
What about leaf collection?
Our highest priority is the snow response.
We hope to continue with leaf pickup for residents that have a November 30 set out date after the snow response is completed, but we expect there to be delays in getting back to this work.
Also, we can only collect leaf piles we can see. If your leaves are obstructed by snow – we won’t be able to get them.
We published a release about that earlier today.
In conclusion…
Streets Division staff will be monitoring the roads and the weather throughout the event. Operations will adjust as conditions merit. Additional updates will be provided.
