“Yesterday was a long day,” Webster County Engineer Jamie Johll said Monday. “We concentrated on paved routes yesterday and this morning. There is some drifting on the unpaved roads that we’ll address later today. We should have everything cleaned up just in time for more snow tomorrow.”

According to Johll, staff at the Webster County Secondary Roads Department began putting down a 5:1 mixture of washed sand and rock salt around 6 a.m. on Sunday. During the lull in weather, the team reloaded, refueled their plow trucks and was back on the road around noon. The crews worked until 5 p.m.

“The snow totals were much less than originally predicted, but when combined with the strong winds, it was enough to cause problems,” Johll said.

The Secondary Roads Department was back on the road again Monday morning at 4 a.m.

The high winds caused power outages throughout the area with more than 2,000 residents in Fort Dodge being without power for multiple hours. Rural Lehigh residents were also without power for approximately five hours. The City of Callender had four downed power poles, a damaged transformer, and downed power lines which were all repaired by Monday afternoon.

“Winter is not over yet,” said Webster County Emergency Management Coordinator Dylan Hagen. “We had advanced notice of the blizzard warning, which gave residents time to prepare and change plans if necessary. It’s important that if you do have to travel, make sure to have a phone charger, blankets, extra clothes, a hat, and gloves.”

Mother Nature is expected to bring snow back to the area again tonight.