'We got lucky that storm went southeast': Burlington area misses heavier snowfall, gets up to 4 inches
The Burlington area saw slightly less snow than initially predicted for Wednesday, with officials saying residents lucked out when most of the heavier snow fell farther to the southeast.
As of Wednesday afternoon, Des Moines and Lee counties saw snow accumulations of between one and four inches, with three being the highest reported total for Burlington, according to Timothy Gunkel, meteorologist for the National Weather Service of the Quad Cities.
Initial predictions ranged between three and six inches of snow for the area.
It was worse to the east.
In Illinois, areas of Hancock County saw 6-10 inches of snow. Some portions of McDonough County saw nearly 12 inches.
The impact on travel from the snow appears to have been minimal as well.
On Wednesday afternoon, Iowa Department of Transportation maps showed stretches of highways 218, 34, 61, 16 and 2 as partially covered with snow. But driving conditions for all other major Iowa highways to the north and west of the area were listed as "seasonal."
More: Burlington declares a snow emergency, bans parking on snow routes
Burlington issued a snow emergency Wednesday morning, which triggered a ban on parking along all posted snow emergency routes within city limits. That enabled crews to clear snow and slush from the streets.
By 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, the city had issued 73 tickets to cars parked on those routes illegally.
Cleanup work on Burlington roads continued throughout the day, with city officials expecting to finish clearing them all early Thursday.
"It was a pretty easy snow to push," said Chris Clements, operations manager for the city's street and sewer department. "It wasn't real heavy. It wasn't too bad. We had a little bit of drifting on a few of the outside roads. But overall, not too terrible."
Classes for the Burlington School District, Great River Christian School, Southeastern Community College, Danville School District, Fort Madison School District and Keokuk School District were canceled Wednesday due to the weather.
But the Burlington Fire Department reported no weather-related calls by Wednesday afternoon.
More: Winter storm heading to Burlington area could bring up to six inches of snow by Thursday
Des Moines County Emergency Management Agency did not receive any reports of weather-related incidents or power outages.
"I think, overall, we got lucky that the storm went southeast of us," said Gina Hardin, emergency management coordinator for the Des Moines County Emergency Management Agency.
The NWS cautions that some additional snow may be possible Wednesday evening or early Thursday, but the closest snowfalls are likely to take place near Macomb, Illinois, with totals of 1-2 inches.
Wind chills for the area Wednesday night into Thursday afternoon are expected to be as low as minus-5 degrees, with wind gusts as high as 30 mph.
This article originally appeared on The Hawk Eye: Storm brings 4-inch snowfall to Burlington area, less than feared
