Old Man Winter delivered Saturday, Nov. 29, as he dropped close to a foot of snow across the region, launching road and highway crews into action during the Thanksgiving weekend.

Ogle County Highway Engineer Jeremy A. Ciesiel said early weather forecasts helped his department plan for the storm.

“Saturday’s snowstorm was nice along the lines that it was predicted well in advance, the prediction was accurate, and many people and organizations altered their travel plans and activities ahead of the storm,” Ciesiel said. “I would like to thank the residents of Ogle County for limiting their travel during the storm. The fewer vehicles on the roadways during inclement weather, the better.”

Heavy snow coupled with wind made clearing the roads more difficult for crews throughout the day.

“Saturday was a challenge due to the constant snow and wind. This resulted in the roads being snow covered even shortly after being cleared by the plows,” Ciesiel said. “Even though the snowfall died down overnight, the winds picked up, resulting in substantial drifts across the highways. Thankfully, the sun came out on Sunday, the temperature rose and the wind died down. These improved conditions allowed us to finally clear most of the county highways.”

In Oregon, Public Works Director Bill Covell said his crew started prepping for the storm 5 days ahead of its predicted onset.

“We started preparing for the storm on Monday (Nov. 24),” Covell said. “Salt was ordered, all plows were installed and serviced, all equipment was refueled, and we began planning for labor.

“On Wednesday, we had a quick meeting with the city manager, police, and Public Works to make sure we were all on the same page. Friday night, we pre-salted the roads to keep them from icing up.”

Covell’s crew started plowing early Saturday morning.

“We started plowing at 2 a.m. and quit at 8 p.m. because we had to wait for the odd/even parking to change (the 16-hour maximum had been reached). We were back in at 1 a.m. Sunday and plowed until 1 p.m. … then came back in at 8 p.m. to clean up the parking stalls."

The storm was the first of the season for road crews and their equipment.

“As with the start of any season, we did have a couple mechanical issues. Thankfully, these were minor and resulted in minimal delays. We now have a small window to get everything back working ahead of the next forecasted snow,” Ciesiel said.

Covell said his department battled some major mechanical issues.

“We experienced three truck issues/breakdowns; at one point, all we had were small trucks to plow. Two of the trucks were fixed, but we were down one truck for the entire snowstorm,” Covell said.

He said he reached out to the Illinois Public Works Mutual Aid Network (IPWMAN) a statewide mutual aid system that is available to all public works agencies to request equipment.

Through IPWMAN, hundreds of Illinois member agencies work together to find mutual aid and support during natural or man-made disasters by coordinating personnel and resources for those who require assistance.

“Luckily, two of the trucks were fixed before we had to finalize emergency help,” Covell said.

Both Ciesiel and Covell praised their crews for battling the wind and snow over a holiday weekend.

“I want to thank our crew for altering their holiday weekend plans to keep the roads in Ogle County passable for the traveling public,” Ciesiel said.

“The guys did a fantastic job, especially with all the variables thrown at them. We also had two employees experiencing their first-ever municipal plowing, and it was during a winter storm. Both employees did a tremendous job,” Covell said.

Covell said that the storm also impacted the sewage treatment plant.

“Like always, Scott (Pennington) was amazing and took care of all the obstacles himself,” Covell said.