Old Man Winter makes a comeback

After three or four years of unusually mild winters, the Old Man is back in the business of making travel more difficult in Southeast Missouri.

Even before a winter storm dropped approximately 2 1/2 inches of snow Thursday, Cape Girardeau street crews already had spent three times more money on salt and labor than they did on snow removal all of last year, but the city doesn't consider this a major budget problem.

Cape Girardeau public works director Doug Leslie said the city "will do what it has to do to keep the roads safe and to keep enterprise going."

Seasonal installments

Thursday's round of winter precipitation was the third episode of significant snowfall since the beginning of December, prompting the usual array of fender-benders and stranded motorists across Cape Girardeau County.

The most recent snow was not as heavy as the Dec. 5 storm that blanketed the region with up to 12 inches in some areas; and it didn't leave the roads as slick as the sheet of ice that covered streets Dec. 24.

But many are wondering if the wet trend is one that will continue throughout the rest of the season. Forecasters are predicting another, less significant snowfall for Saturday.

Chris Noles, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky., said there is an El Nino effect that has caused temperatures in the South to be colder this year than normal.

"If you go by the forecast indicators, I would say, yeah, we could see more; I think that's the direction we're headed," he said. "It could put us a little bit above normal."

The annual snowfall average for this part of the state is about 13 inches. Cape Girardeau has seen about 9 inches so far this year and was about 3 1/2 inches above the monthly average for December.

Noles added that the region hasn't really seen a "normal" winter in several years. The last few years have been abnormally dry, he said.

"I think we are long overdue," Noles said.

Bad time of day

This round of snow came at a bad time of day, according to Jackson public works director Rodney Bollinger.

The road crews in Jackson began hitting the streets at 5 a.m., but morning traffic packed the snow quickly, he said, which made it more difficult to clear the streets.

"The status of our streets are pretty poor, but we'll try to get those clear tonight," said Bollinger early Thursday afternoon.

The primary roads in Cape Girardeau were fairly clear by lunchtime. The conditions on secondary streets ranged from semi-clear to treacherous.

Leslie said Cape Girardeau spent $71,000 on snow removal so far this year before Thursday. Of that, $51,000 was spent on salt, while the rest was spent on labor and fuel.

Last year was less costly. The city spent only $17,900 total, with $13,500 going for salt. Leslie said the city typically spends about $50,000 a year on snow removal materials and labor.

Despite the higher costs of snow removal this year, Leslie said the budget is flexible enough to handle more snow. Snow removal expenses come out of a road materials budget of $125,000, he said. The road materials budget funds things like gravel, street patching materials and salt. He said the city has not reached a critical point yet, but allowed that if the wet weather continued throughout the winter, a budget amendment could be necessary.

Loy Shrum, a Missouri Department of Transportation maintenance supervisor at Jackson, said MoDOT has also used more salt this year than in the last few years.

"It's been a little unusual compared to the last three or four years," said Shrum, a 29-year veteran of MoDOT. "We've had colder weather, and once you get a snow, it refreezes and it's hard to get off. It's definitely a tougher winter than what we've been having."

The weather also has an impact on business.

Post office routes ran slowly Thursday. Cindy Davis, the customer service supervisor at Cape Girardeau's post office, said two tow trucks were dispatched to help mail carriers out of ditches Thursday.

The vehicles driven by the carriers are lightweight and rear-wheel drive, a bad combination for slick surfaces. The snow makes it more difficult to walk, too, Davis said.

Other businesses welcome the snow, however.

"It flocks them in," said Super Video Warehouse manager Debby Abney. "I'd say, for a Thursday, we had twice as many customers. When the kids are out of school, that's what helps."

At the same time, Abney said some customers use the weather as an excuse not to return their movies to the Jackson store.

bmiller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 127