Preparations underway for incoming early spring snow storm
MINNEAPOLIS — This year, the early days of spring will feel more like winter than most of winter did.
"I guess now that it's spring, I'd really prefer not to see any snow," said Ben Hess, of Mayer. "For me, it's been kind of nice because I have to walk to school every day. So it's been a lot nicer than last winter where it's really snowy."
"On the one hand, it has been lovely just having a spring-like winter but on the other hand, I'm glad to have the snow coming in to add some moisture to the environment that's given me great pause with this mild winter," said Carrie Nearing, of Minneapolis.
If you thought you were done with the winter gear, you're not the only one. Both Minneapolis and St. Paul had to put the plows back on their city trucks to prepare for the incoming storm.
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"This is the time of year we do try to transition, if you can, some of your equipment," said Joe Paumen, Director of Transportation Maintenance and Repair for the City of Minneapolis. "Our spring sweep starts in the middle of April. And so with such a large fleet, we wouldn't be able to take it all off in one day. So we did have a little bit of equipment where we had taken some of the some of the sanders off, for example, or some of the blades. But we're able to get those up and running pretty quickly at this point."
Now that the blades are back on, the brine is being mixed and loaded as well.
"That's a liquid salt that we put on the road ahead of time, when the air temperatures and pavement temperatures are high enough. The idea is that when that first snow hits the pavement, it will melt on contact," Paumen said.
With preparations underway for the storm, Paumen hopes Minnesotans haven't forgotten road etiquette during the warm winter.
"I'd say just to give our staff some room on the roads and please be patient. The sun's pretty high in the sky right now and you know, no matter what we get, it will soon be melted," he said.