Winter Blast Hits Osawatomie

By Jeff Gulley

Osawatomie was spared from the worst Mother Nature had to offer Monday and Tuesday but it was still enough to cause road problems and cancel school on both days.

Snow began falling in the early hours Monday and city staff were called out to clear streets about 4:25, said Public Works Director Steve Coffelt.

“We had some trouble with equipment but as far as Mother Nature, the biggest problem was it just kept snowing,” he said. “As soon as we would go over a section it looked like we had never been there.”

Osawatomie USD 367 Superintendent Gary French said the decision Monday to cancel school was based on a forecast but it was the right decision.

“At 4:30 a.m. Monday there was just a couple of inches of snow but it was slick,” French said. “But the forecast was four to five inches of snow. Then Tuesday we kept hearing of wind and blowing snow. The country roads were basically ice.”

French said a conference call was made with neighboring districts before each decision to close schools was made.

“I’m not sure there were any schools open in Kansas,” he said.

City crews began working on the streets Tuesday morning at about 3:30 a.m. and Coffelt said the biggest concern for Tuesday was wind and cold temperatures.

“I don’t see the roads getting much better today (Tuesday),” he said. “We have plowed everything and put salt down but with the wind blowing and two nights with sub-zero weather forecast, this is not going to melt away anytime soon.”

The National Weather Service on Tuesday issued a wind chill advisory until noon on Wednesday. Temperatures are expected to be in the single digits with wind chills of 15 to 20 degrees are expected.

French said the extreme cold could be a factor in whether school opens on Wednesday.

“It’s winter and we have to go to school but there are a lot of things to consider.” he said.

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Posted by admin on Jan 12 2011. Filed under News and Updates. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry