The City of Madison has issued a snow emergency from Feb. 12-14 as a result of the significant snowfall over the past couple of days. Snow emergencies are usually declared when snowfall – three or more inches – requires major plowing on all residential streets, according to their website. This ensures roads are cleared quickly to allow for safe transit in the city.

City Communication Manager Dylan Brogan said they try to ensure these situations are manageable. He recognized concerns for residents during these snow emergencies tends to revolve around parking. With already limited parking in the city, citizens may run into trouble when parking during these situations, but Brogan is aware of the struggle.

“We hope there aren’t major interruptions … but remember, if we don’t plow the streets, there will be more problems,” Brogan said. “It can take some getting used to if you’re new to Madison, but we need to get the streets back to normal.”

When asked about an extension of the emergency, Brogan did not seem concerned about the possibility.

“We only declare this [a snow emergency] when we need to get the streets cleared,” Brogan said. “It should be wrapped up at the end of the day [Feb. 14].”

Clearing off the streets is a coordinated effort which begins even before snow has fallen. Brogan made sure to highlight the process the city uses to ensure efficiency.

“Before the snowfall, we did a lot of salting with the salt trucks,” Brogan said. “It’s all about strategically timing this out. They send out a big plow at midnight and right now they’re working on all the side streets. There are hard-working city employees to make sure people can get to class and work in the morning.”

While this may be an inconvenience, the snow emergency was enacted to assist in the prompt clearing of the residential streets, according to the city’s website. City of Madison employees are working to make sure roads are cleared with minimal disruption by Feb. 14.