BROOKINGS You know what a sure sign is that winter has arrived? Its when Brookings bans parking on its residential streets in preparation for a massive snow-removal effort.
The ban, which went into effect at 8 p.m. Monday, will remain in place until all of the citys residential streets have been plowed, according to a news release from the city. It doesnt affect the downtown core business district, with plowing there expected to begin at 2 a.m. today. As of 1 p.m. today, the ban had been allowed to expire, per updated information from the city.
While frustration with the snow is likely to be a common among Brookings-area residents, its going to become even more bothersome today thanks to the arrival of high winds. Those winds will extend hazardous travel conditions, so much so that the National Weather Service a winter weather advisory in effect for Brookings County until noon today.
Brookings schools were closed on Monday as well.
The important thing to note though is, as the snow moves east, we are going to see increasing winds out of the north/northwest on the backside gusting 25 to 35 mph, and thats likely to cause quite a bit of blowing and drifting of snow, especially on east/west-oriented roadways, National Weather Service meteorologist Peter Rogers said in a phone interview.
Travel is likely to remain pretty challenging through (today) because of those winds, Rogers added. If people do have travel plans, they (should be) taking that into consideration.
The winds will have more than enough snow to play around with, too. Rogers said Brookings could expect another 1 to 2 inches from 6 p.m. Monday until daybreak today, and thats on top of whatevers already on the ground beforehand.
Visibility concerns were already an issue Monday afternoon, along with slick conditions that were expected to develop overnight into this morning.
Any wind at all is going to blow the fluffy stuff around because its so light, Brookings County Emergency Manager Bob Hill said in a phone call. Both of them the highway superintendent and the sheriff both recommend people just drive for the conditions, possibly slow down a little bit if you could and keep your headlights on.
If you do have risk getting on the road, he offered timely advice.
The main thing, and we preach, is if youre traveling, make sure you got some kind of supplies in your vehicle, especially with this (incoming) extreme cold, he said.
If youre going to travel out of the area, take a blanket off your bed if you have to and throw it in the car just in case, he recommended, adding that having charged cellphones on hand was also a positive.
Finally, If you do slide into a ditch, its important that if youre going to run your car heat, that you clear that exhaust pipe, Hill said. You dont want your exhaust pipe plugged at all, because that will get carbon monoxide inside the vehicle.
Rogers offered his insights as well.
If you need to travel, be prepared for adverse road conditions. Its going to take a while for our road crews to get out there and completely clear all of this away, he said. Again, with the wind coming in (today), its going to create blowing and drifting snow issues that could prolong the hazardous travel impacts across the region.
Arctic blast inbound
If some folks think its cold now, well, the forecast for later in the week puts a literally chill in the air: A frigid blast of cold air is coming our way, courtesy of the Arctic, and its going to put a freeze on everything.
(Its) certainly the coldest air mass of the season so far, especially given how warm December was, Rogers said, adding that the forecast high in Brookings for Thursday and Friday is 9 above zero, dropping to 2 above zero for Saturday and 2 below zero for Sunday.
He noted that once winds are included in the mix, the Brookings area can expect to see wind chill values 20 below zero or colder by the weekend.
This is not uncommon for January with that kind of cold, especially with people havent been having to bundle up maybe as much as they usually would, theyre definitely going to want to pull out those extra layers the mittens, the hats, the snow pants (and) everything else come this weekend if they need to venture outside because it will be cold, and dangerously cold, Rogers said.
Hes not kidding about the dangerously cold part, folks Rogers said potential health impacts include frostbite. With wind chills in the 20 below zero to 30 below zero range, exposed skin can get frostbite within 30 minutes. If its colder than that, exposed skin can get frostbite in 10 minutes or less.
Meanwhile, Hill recommended people head over to ready.gov. He says its FEMAs main site for disasters and emergencies, and that it has a page packed with information on how to handle winter weather and protect yourself from it.
They do have a lot of good information on there it talks about how do you prepare for winter weather and know your risk during winter storms, he said.
Other resources people can use include calling 511 and checking out the South Dakota Department of Transportation website, which has a link to road conditions, along with other information. States surrounding South Dakota have similar resources as well.
Contact Mondell Keck at [email protected].
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