Omaha residents experienced a record total of 12.5 inches of snow on Monday, Jan. 25.
The total accumulation of Jan. 25’s snow has not transpired since 1975. According to meteorologists across the Omaha metro, Monday and Tuesday’s total snowfall tied for the 20th largest snowstorm recorded.
The historic storm left Omaha residents digging out their vehicles and shoveling driveways for hours as they attempted to go about their daily lives.
KETV meteorologist Caitlin Harvey said that when these conditions are expected, her best advice is to plan ahead.
“We know it’s coming and what was different about this system was that as each new forecast model came out, it was swinging further and further north. So, that put us on the heaviest range of snow, really,” Harvey said. “The whole time we knew the storm was coming. Make sure you get your errands done early, simple things like parking your car off the street.”
Omaha residents were not the only ones working toward clearing the snow, as road patrol and snow removal services worked tirelessly to maintain safe roads and public walkways.
There was an unfortunate snowball effect of accidents that occurred due to the weather conditions. According to a statement from the Nebraska State Patrol (NSP), troopers responded to 600 motor vehicle accidents on Monday and Tuesday. NSP further broke down those numbers by stating 534 of those encounters were motorist assist, 53 were called in crashes and the remaining 34 were assist for other agencies.
Omaha drivers were not alone in finding it challenging on the road as plow drivers spent hours in the effort to clean streets and sidewalks.
“Monday was stressful,” said Ethan Wolbach, a plow driver that works for Clear Creek Landscapes.
He explained that he and his coworkers spent the week clearing up Omaha streets after Monday’s snowfall, working over 53 and a half hours during the week. Ethan said he and his team ask that Omaha residents remain patient.
“Understand that, I mean, I’ve worked 53 and a half hours this week so we’re all exhausted, our entire crew is exhausted, but we are doing the best job that we can because we know if we don’t do it right the first time it’s going to make a longer week. We have to go back and do it anyway,” Wolbach said.
