Pocatello Street Department bracing for winter after November snow

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) - Winter has already left its calling card in November in the Gate City, with the Street Department hitting right back.

"In the City of Pocatello, we've had a couple decent snow events over the past few weeks," said Deputy Public Works Director Tom Kirkman. "Luckily, the temperatures have been fairly warm, and there hasn't been a lot of frost in the ground. So the snow that does land in the streets didn't stick for too long."

Kirkman says his department is well informed on when to stock up on supplies when the snowfall arrives.  

"We have a daily and weekly briefings with the National Weather Service on potential hazardous conditions," Kirkman said. "And so, what we'll do is make sure that we have the correct amount of material on hand so that we're not running out in the middle of a storm."

With the snow in the Fall, Kirkman says they are anticipating there will be more where that came from based on previous years.

"The outlook that we've received is it could potentially be colder and wetter than average," Kirkman said. "We're planning for that. We always try and plan for the worst-case scenarios. So every year in our mind is going to be a bad year."

He wants the Pocatello community to know they are working to clear the streets one road at a time. 

"Snow removal is a slow process," Kirkman said. "It takes time, and we ask people to be patient and understanding, because it does happen slowly."