Working with a quick turnaround from the winter storm that hit the area earlier in the week, the city’s fleet of about a dozen snow plows was poised and ready to go by noon on Thursday, according to Doug Barkema, operations manager for the Public Works Department.

“We’re ready to go tonight,” he said. “We’ve been working on equipment lights.”

Knowing just how much the city depends on the fleet of plows to clear snow from the streets, the Public Works Department also prepares a pair of back-up plow trucks ahead of big storms like this, Barkema said.

“There’s two really old ones that we’re going to have to use in case we have something break down,” he said. “Every snowstorm you have problems with mechanical or something has to be fixed.”

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
The city of Fort Dodge Public Works Department has its large snow blower ready for the 7-11 inches of snow expected to fall Thursday night and Friday. The snow blower was purchased by the Fort Dodge City Council last year.

The mechanics in the city’s garage are the unsung heroes of keeping those snow plows on the roads.

“Our mechanics keep everything running,” Barkema said. “Today we had time to fix everything and get everything going again, and those guys did a really good job getting stuff ready to go for tonight.”

During significant storms, the snow plow drivers work 12-hour shifts.

“We keep rotating,” Barkema said.

In addition to the fleet of snow plows — which are also fitted with salt spreaders — the city has two motor graders and two end loaders fitted with snow blades. Last year, a large snow blower on an end loader was added to the mix as well.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
Doug Barkema, operations manaer for the Fort Dodge Public Works Department, holds a handful of the salt and sand mixture the city plows will be spreading on the roads during today's snow storm.

“I want to thank the City Council for helping us out, getting us this new equipment,” Barkema said. “We appreciate it.”

The dump trucks filled with sand and salt get started even before the first flake of snow falls.

“I have a guy out putting sand and salt mixes on the hills, getting them ready to go,” Barkema said Thursday afternoon.

The city uses a blend of rock salt and sand to spread on the roads, he said. This is because in really low temperatures, the salt can take much longer to be effective and in the meantime, the sand provides traction for the vehicles driving on those roads.

The city crews’ jobs don’t end once the streets are cleared, Barkema said.

-Messenger photo by Kelby Wingert
City of Fort Dodge plows line up ready to be called into action for the snow storm poised to hit the area today.

“Most of the equipment is dirty, so we clean them up and get all the salt off of them,” he said. Then they go over all the equipment to identify anything that needs fixed before the next storm.

And then the process begins once again.

According to the National Weather Service on Thursday morning, the Fort Dodge area is expected to see 7 to 11 inches of snowfall starting late Thursday night and throughout most of the day today. Nearly the entire state is under a winter storm warning from 9 p.m. Thursday through 12 a.m. Saturday. On Thursday afternoon, a blizzard warning from 10 a.m. Friday through 6 a.m. Saturday was added.

The snow is going to be followed by some arctic temperatures in the single digits and below over the weekend. Sunday is expected to see a high of -7 degrees, with a low of -20 degrees. The windchill on Sunday is expected to be as low as -40.

A wind chill watch is in effect from Saturday evening through Tuesday morning.

-Submitted graphic
This map shows the designated snow emergency routes in Fort Dodge. On-street parking is prohibited on those streets when two inches or more of snow accumulates.

Editor’s note: Due to an early deadline, this Messenger story was written before the NWS sent out its Thursday evening update on the storm. Updated predicted snow totals may be different.