Winter Weather Update: Dec. 11, 2007

Madison - Plowing and cleanup work is underway for today's latest round of winter weather. As of 11:00 a.m. today, Madison had received 2.1 inches of new snow. Thus far this month, Madison has seen 18.1 total inches of new snowfall. The average month-to-date snowfall for this point in December is 3.6 inches. The average for the entire month of December is 12.6 inches (National Weather Service data, 1971-2000). "I want to publicly thank the snow plow drivers and other equipment operators, the Metro bus drivers, and staff from Fleet Services, Building Inspection, Police, Parks, City Engineering and other agencies for their long hours and hard work this December," said Mayor Dave Cieslewicz. "It's been awhile but we are clearly seeing a return to a traditional Wisconsin winter this year. City crews are working hard to make the streets safe, as they have been doing nearly around the clock since last weekend. Vehicle owners can help them do their jobs by making sure to abide by the snow emergency and alternate side parking rules." The Streets Division has declared a snow emergency for this evening. That means that alternate side parking restrictions will be in effect throughout the entire City of Madison including the downtown/isthmus snow emergency zone. Madison residents are asked to remove all vehicles from the street if possible. Residents who must park on the street this evening should park on the EVEN house numbered side of the street. Vehicles parked on the street Wednesday evening, December 12th, should be parked on the ODD house numbered side of the street. As always, city plows are focusing their initial efforts on clearing main thoroughfares. Crews will then turn their attention to plowing residential and secondary streets. Between city employees and private contractors, there will be about 160 pieces of equipment on Madison streets tonight. Residents and businesses with questions or concerns about their street conditions can contact the Streets Division at 246-4532 (East), or 266-4681 (West). Complaints regarding sidewalk cleanup can be directed to Building Inspection at (608) 266-4551. Comments on any issues can also be submitted via the Report-a-Problem website: http://www.cityofmadison.com/reportAProblem.