If anybody had a concern about a white Christmas, those fears may have been put to rest in the last 48 hours. In fact, as local residents began the great task of clearing snow from driveways, walks and around their vehicles, they knew that only an unprecedented heat wave would rid the area of the more than a foot of snow which fell on the area Tuesday into Wednesday.
The National Weather Service had been predicting a snowstorm somewhere in the Midwest for several days. As the event grew closer, winter storm and blizzard warnings were issued and the weather service was using terms like “epic” and “historic” to describe what we were expecting.
We received 12.5 inches of snow in the Belle Plaine area and it was whipped around by winds of 30 to at times 40 mph, causing considerable drifting in the outlying areas and the cancellation of school for a third straight day Thursday. The Belle Plaine district has a considerable number of rural students. Superintendent Bill Lynch said he consulted with a representative of the Iowa County Highway Department late Wednesday afternoon and was told that crews were being called in off the roads at the end of their shifts Wednesday and would be back out Thursday at 4 a.m. That prompted Lynch’s decision to postpone school Wednesday evening.
We were greeted by clear, sunny skies Thursday morning, but a wind chill advisory remained in effect until at least noon as the temperature felt like minus 25 degrees.
Belle Plaine city staff were hard at work on clearing streets even during the height of the ground blizzard on Wednesday. By Thursday morning, most of the city streets had been at least partially cleared as crews continued to widen pathways and start to remove the mountains of snow from around the downtown area.
The Belle Plaine Police Department’s early advisories on residents heeding the city’s snow ordinance appeared to work. Police Chief Kris Hudson reported that his department had issued just four tickets and towed four vehicles for violation of the snow emergency ordinance. While many people stayed home on Wednesday with schools and many businesses closed, Belle Plaine Police assisted several motorists who got stuck in the area.
As the clean-up continues, city officials remind residents not to throw snow from their driveways into the plowed streets as it just causes more problems for all drivers in the area. Also, remember to clear snow away from fire hydrants along the street so that in the event of a fire, rescue crews will not be delayed in fighting the fire.
The snow emergency declaration remains in effect until midnight tonight (Thursday).
With the official start of winter still 10 days away, there was an indication, according to the National Weather Service, that the area could see some snow and freezing drizzle late Saturday into Sunday, with temperatures not expected to rise above 25 degrees into next week.

Snowblowers, shovels and blades mounted on the fronts of trucks were in use Thursday morning as Belle Plaine began digging out of its first big snowfall of the season. Crews cleared a snowdrift from in front of the True Value store in downtown Belle Plaine. The area received more than a foot of snow, followed by strong winds which whipped the snow into drifts, especially against buildings with a northern exposure.