A series of two storms will swipe the area and are expected to dump up to 13 inches of snow by tonight. About five inches of snow were expected to accumulate during Monday’s introduction to the storm, a report from Madison’s Streets Division said. Snow is expected to fall throughout Wednesday, causing the city to prepare for a possible snow emergency with blizzard-like conditions expected to continue throughout the week.
According to a statement from Madison Streets Superintendent Allen Schumacher, concerns were raised about whether the city’s Streets Division will be able to salt the roads because of imminent high winds and temperatures in the teens and low 20s.
“[Currently,] we have all 30 salt routes on the road salting and plowing the main [arteries], the main connector streets, the streets around the hospitals and schools and those where Madison Metro runs,” Schumacher said Monday.
Schumacher said if Monday forecasts remain accurate, all residential streets should be plowed twice during the snowstorms.
To prepare for the second and worst of the two storms, a full-scale plowing of all residential streets began at 4 a.m. this morning.
Because of the perceived difficulty in treating the rapid snowfall, Chris Ackerbauer, physical plant assistant director for UW, said the university pre-sanded and salted sidewalks before the snow began to fall Monday morning.
Special pre-treatment was also done on the stairs by Bascom, Ingraham and Sterling Halls in addition to the overpass across University Avenue and Park Street.
Ackerbauer said 26 university grounds staff members were assigned to take care of the campus sidewalks during the storms, and an additional 400 custodians and maintenance workers will maintain the steps and entrances to all campus buildings to ensure students are safe.
Ackerbauer said the school received positive feedback in its responses to snowstorms throughout the past two years.
The school’s handling is often compared to the city’s reaction to each individual storm and, though Ackerbauer said the city has a lot more area to take care of, the school has still done well in comparison.
Mick Rusch, spokesperson for Madison Metro, said students and faculty can still expect to take buses around campus throughout the entirety of the storms. He said buses are expected to be running on time despite the hazardous conditions.
“There are currently no plans of cancellation of any service at this time,” Rusch said. “As long as it’s considered safe, we are out on the road, and our drivers will maintain schedules as the weather allows.”
Rusch said a collection of meetings will be held with Schumacher this afternoon to make decisions on the situation as it unfolds.
Rusch said the Madison Metro phone line will be open with updated information as the storms progress, and the Metro’s homepage, where residents are encouraged to sign up for email and text alerts, will be updated.
-Katherine Krueger contributed to this report
