Cold Conquers All - Even Snowplows

It’s been nearly a week since the last snowfall, but many Spokane Valley roads and intersections are still icy and snow-covered.

Portions of Sprague Avenue resemble the Oregon Trail, what with all the snow ruts.

Turn lanes are like skating rinks.

Emergency shoulders? Forget about it, they’re covered by knee-deep snow.

Yet no county snowplows have been spotted east of Havana Street since early in the week.

What gives?

According to county officials, it’s just too darn cold to do anything about the road conditions.

This past week’s record-tying cold snap (it was 22 below zero Thursday morning) rendered the county’s 80 plows ineffective, said Chad Hutson, spokesman for the Public Works Department.

Diesel fuel turned to jelly in the trucks’ lines and batteries died in the sub-zero temperatures, making it tough to even get the plows on the road, Hutson said.

The trucks that did limp onto the 2,700 miles of county highways and byways faced freezing spells that turned blades and other metal parts brittle, snapping many.

“It’s just a joy being a county plow driver these days,” Hutson said with a bitter little laugh.

Salting and sanding operations also were futile, he said.

“Right now, salt and de-icers are ineffective,” Hutson said. “The salt loses its effectiveness at 15 degrees, de-icer at 20. Sand won’t work either, because it just clumps up without mixing salt in.”

So plow drivers are sitting on their mitten-clad hands waiting for the temperatures to rise.

They shouldn’t have to wait too much longer. The mercury is forecast to climb into the 20s on Monday.

Maybe those roads will be cleared in time for the Tuesday commute.

Then again, maybe not.

The National Weather Service is predicting snow and freezing rain for Monday afternoon.

, DataTimes