By LORI BERGLUND

“Stay home and stay safe” is the recommendation coming from Webster County Engineer Jamie Johll as a blizzard warning remains in effect until 6 a.m. Saturday, to be followed by wind chill warnings for the next several days.

Local snowplow drivers don’t have the luxury of staying in, but Johll notes they wish that others would.

“Our crews have been out since 4 a.m. and the visibility is near zero,” Johll said.

The combination of snow, very high winds, and frigid temperatures are making for extremely hazardous travel in Webster County and most of Iowa.

Southern parts of the county seem to be hit a little worse, according to Johll. Farmers in that area reported about 8 inches of snow on Tuesday and added several inches to the total overnight and in to Friday morning. Actual snowfall totals were difficult to measure on Friday as the snow was blowing and drifting.

“Winds have just been crazy,” Johll said. “We didn’t get quite as much snow as we thought we were going to, but it’s just cold enough that the snow is really light and fluffy, so it’s blowing and causing near white-out conditions.”

A number of Webster County snowplows were actually pulled off the road on Friday, due to white-out conditions. Johll said foremen in each area of the county are tasked with making that decision as they are the boots on the ground.

“I have two foremen and they are making the call for each shed,” Johll said. “The south half of the county seems to be a little worse than the north half right now.”

Despite those poor conditions, county snowplows had already made several passes on 330th Street between Dayton and Stratford by noon Friday. As wind and snow continued on, roads remained mostly to completely covered. Johll expected all county plows to be off the road by 4 p.m.

“The latest our policy says we’ll stay out is until 6 p.m.,” he said. “With the blowing snow conditions we have, and once the sun goes down, it’s only going to get worse, and the visibility will drop even more. We’ll probably call it a day at 4 p.m.”

Crews will be back out at 4 a.m. both Saturday and Sunday. Those who live on gravel roads will have to sit tight the longest.

“On Saturday, we’ll probably stay on the hard-surfaced roads, and that’s all we’ve been on today,” Johll said. “Hopefully by Sunday at 4 a.m., we’ll be able to get out and get those gravel roads opened up.”

Even then, most residents may want to enjoy the warmth and comfort of home. The National Weather Service is predicting an actual high temperature of minus 7, with wind chills as low as negative 30 on Sunday.