BILLINGS – It’s already December and the Billings city street division’s snow plows haven’t seen the light of day.
It’s a pretty drastic change from the record season last year, when Billings saw 106.1 inches of snow.
When could snow plows start to move snow?
“My crystal ball isn’t working,” joked Bill Kemp with the public works street-traffic division.
However, Kemp said the plows are ready and crews are on standby.
The forecast for Billings is set to remain mild with above seasonal temperatures and fairly dry conditions, according to Q2 Weather reports.
Equipped with 41 drivers and roughly 30 vehicles, Kemp said the street division constantly is monitoring the weather reports in anticipation of a snow event.
When snow was predicted a few weeks ago, Kemp said the crew was on standby for 24 hours, although only a dusting fell.
“That front was wavering back and forth,” said Kemp.
He says it takes about 15 minutes for crews to load up the plows and attach the blades.
As for sand, Kemp said at this point in the season, they have enough.
“We order our sand in September or October so we are ready,” he said.
He said when it comes to sand, they may order more in the coming months if that’s needed, however, there was leftover sand from last year.
Crews are still out and about working through even if they aren’t moving snow.
Kemp said crews are making use of the good weather to complete paving and asphalt projects.
But when the snow does start to fall in Billings, whenever that might be, Kemp asks that drivers pay attention to the plows and give them space.
“We are trying to keep the roads safe, give them room.”
Reporting by Andrea Lutz for MTN News
