The first snowfall of the year caused frustration for the Madison Streets Division and numerous accidents Thursday night.

Streets division supervisor Al Schumacher said many aspects of the night were challenging to the department.

“In a word, [the night was] frustrating,” Schumacher said.?

According to Schumacher, the type of snow, the time it hit and the areas it covered were some of the main issues.

Schumacher said the bulk of the snow hit between 3:30 and 4 a.m. Friday morning. Because it takes two to three hours for the plows to finish their routes one time, it was difficult to get the roads cleared before people started to leave their homes.

Schumacher said another challenge was where the snow hit. According to Schumacher, the far west side of Madison had two to three inches of snow, while the east side only had a dusting.

Schumacher added they saw many accidents while plowing, and the accidents were a major problem causing gridlock and other traffic issues.

A Public Safety Communications representative said a vast amount of calls were made to the center.

“I couldn’t tell you how many [calls we got],” they said. “I can tell you we were inundated for probably several hours.”

Schumacher said citizens planning on driving in the winter should sign up for emergency text alerts and for the Madison Winter Twitter and Facebook accounts, both of which will keep people alerted about snow emergencies as well as everyday reminders about winter driving laws.

Schumacher also wanted to remind citizens about alternate side parking laws, which require people to park their cars on certain sides of streets on certain nights so plows can move through.

“We don’t like writing tickets for this,” Schumacher said.

Schumacher also advised people to pay attention to emergency snow routes, to leave a lot of extra time for a commute, and to never under any circumstances pass a plow or salt truck.

According to Schumacher, passing one of these vehicles could result in an accident.