Snow alert issued in Sioux Falls

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — A snow alert has been issued in Sioux Falls.

The city of Sioux Falls said that the plowing of emergency routes began Wednesday and will continue until all routes are clear. Plowing will begin in Zone 3 and Zone 2 on the east/west streets on Thursday evening. Zone 2 north/south streets will begin on Friday. The plowing of Zone 1 is expected to begin on Sunday.

Any vehicles in violation of the snow routes will be ticketed and later towed once routes are cleared.

Sioux Falls residents can now track whether their neighborhood has been plowed with an online map.

The city is introducing a snow tracker map to show residents where the plows have been or whether your neighborhood is in process. If an area is red, then that means the neighborhood has not yet been plowed. Yellow portions of the map signify plowing in progress while green means an area has been completed.

The map will only be available when a snow alert is issued.

Sioux Falls Street manager Dustin Hansen said that the focus of plows is currently on emergency routes.

“They’re back on their 12-hour shifts so we’ll run 24-hour shifts until we get this event cleaned up,” Hansen said. “Likely will be working through Sunday and potentially into next week on these 12-hour shifts.”

Hansen said that once the snow cleanup is done following the storm, the city will turn its attention back to the potholes.

Lieutenant Andy Siebenborn talked about the importance of drifting snow and safety on the roads. While it doesn’t seem that bad in city limits, Siebenborn said that the visibility on the edges of town is bad, and the worst of the storm is coming.

While driving into work, Siebenborn said that he struggled to get his police cruiser out of the driveway due to drifting snow. He asks that residents stay home unless they have to travel for a legitimate reason.

“Don’t be like me and get stuck in those drifts,” Siebenborn said.

There are several city closures including Sioux Area Metro, the Midco Aquatic Center and Falls Community Health centers.

Siebenborn said that one complaint the city heard after the last snow storm was that after a street was plowed, cars were parked on both sides of the street creating one narrow lane. He recommends trying to park on one side of the street after the plows pass to allow for the flow of traffic.

Andy Berg, city engineer with Public Works, said that clearing storm drains is important during winter weather events. There are over 17,000 storm drains throughout the city and crews are continuing to clear them. But, Berg continued, if you are able to clear the drain yourself it is appreciated. Storm drains that need clearing can be reported in the City of Sioux Falls mobile app or online.

Berg also wants to caution homeowners to be aware of the snow that piles up around houses.

“When we start getting into March and April, that melt happens and you can get a lot of ice dams around your own house,” Berg said. “Traps that water against your foundations, causes sump-pump issues, frozen sump pump lines. We’re a little early in the season but we just saw melting last week and so that’s an important thing.”