With forecasters predicting another winter blow to the Ames area through Saturday, several Ames and university officials are reminding students and staff about the dangers of winter weather and how to stay safe. Downed power lines, snow cleanup and students’ safety are all important issues as the predicted severe weather approaches.

Forecast

According to the National Weather Service, Thursday’s forecast includes periods of freezing rain and snow, with heavy snow and, at times, drifting snow. As of publication time, the NWS is predicting new snowfall amounts of up to 4 to 10 inches throughout the day on Thursday. Thursday evening is also expected to be extremely windy, with gusts potentially as high as 43 mph.

Last week’s storm and the predicted storm for the coming weekend have been catching Iowans off guard because it all comes so late in the season.

William Gallus, professor of geological and atmospheric sciences, said there are several reasons severe winter storms take place in the beginning and end of winter.

“The colder the air, the less moisture will be present,” he said. “If you’re at the warmer parts of winter, the temperature will be pretty warm so it has the potential to produce a lot of snow.”

Another reason is the contrast in temperatures in the north and south of the United States. A contrast in temperatures has a lot of energy, so when it is very warm to the south and very cold to the north, there is a lot of energy to form a strong snow storm.

Gallus also explained why power lines are much more dangerous during ice storms rather than normal weather conditions of wind or snow.

“The round shape [of the power line] is designed to allow the wind to blow through it and not affect the power lines,” Gallus said. “As soon as you get ice on it, it destroys the round shape and its not very aerodynamic. When the wind blows around the power lines, it puts pressure on the power lines and causes them to sway violently.”

Downed power lines

Brian Trower, assistant director of electric services for the city of Ames, said the first thing citizens with power outages should do is place a call to the utility company and notify them of the problem.

“The first thing we want to do is make sure that people are safe,” Trower said. “Safety is our number one concern.”

Trower said there are certain issues and problems that people need to be aware of for their own safety.

“If you see a downed wire or a wire that has tree limbs hanging on it, please call us. That’s what we do,” Trower said. “We do not want residents trying to take care of those things on their own because its dangerous. Please call and advise us of the situation and we will do our best to take care of it.”

To report a downed wire or electrical emergency during a winter storm, call 239-5240. The local access channel on a TV will also flash the emergency number as part of their public service for this type of situation.

Campus snow cleanup

David Miller, director of facilities planning and management operations, said although campus cleanup is important, students’ safety is the most important.

“The definition of safety is going to vary upon each storm,” Miller said. “It depends on when the storm comes in, what time of day and if we have other activities going on.”

Miller explained one of the first priorities is looking for broken and fallen limbs around campus because of the danger they pose of potentially falling on people. After the safety issues are taken care of, they work on cleaning up individual areas of campus.

“[We first clean] the areas we have the most pedestrian traffic or traffic in general, because those are the areas it will get packed down with ice the quickest,” he said. “Carver Hall and the sidewalk behind Beardshear are some of these. We get lots of feet going on that so we want to get those areas clean first and then move to the lesser-traveled areas. The idea is to get as much of campus as safe as we can, as quick as we can.”

Emergency shelters

The American Red Cross Lincoln Way Chapter, 426 Fifth St., which serves Story, Boone and Greene counties, provides emergency shelters to citizens during severe winter storms. They have pre-existing agreements with community centers and churches in the area if the need for a shelter would arise.

“Right now, we are in the process of predeploying some resources, so if later there is a need for resources, we will be set up for them,” said Doug Yetman, executive director of the chapter.

If emergency warming shelters are warranted by the weather, they will be located at the First Christian Church, 611 Clark Ave., in Ames and at the DMACC campus in Boone. The shelters provide citizens with food, coffee and other beverages.

“We’re encouraging people, especially students, to look at the situation and do whatever they can to prepare,” Yetman said. “Make sure you have food and water and all the resources you need to stay in place up to three days.”

Yetmen added that most of the chapter’s work is done by volunteers, and he encourages people to take advantage of the services they provide.

“There are a number of volunteers that are ready and willing to help,” he said. “They have spent many hours training and preparing for this.”

Parking on campus

Douglas Houghton, program manager for the Department of Public Safety, said the parking division is willing to do what they can if bad weather conditions come.

“This volume of snow takes up a lot of space,” he said. “In a [parking] lot that has 100 parking stalls, there might be five or six [spots] that aren’t accessible because of snow.”

When clearing snow on campus, sidewalks and streets have priority over parking lots, Houghton said.

However, there are three lots that campus services clears first: the southwest corner of the Iowa State Center (lots A3, A4, B5, B6), the lots north of Molecular Biology (lots 29, 30) and north of General Services Building (Lot 41).

According to the winter storm plan on the Department of Public Safety’s Web site, every effort will be made to have these lots cleared by 7:30 a.m.

Houghton said the parking division still sends out staff to give parking tickets, but generally, in intense weather conditions, they send out fewer staff than normal.

“During these kinds of events, enforcement still goes on, but with a good degree of discretion,” he said.

The parking division is also responsible for towing cars on campus.

“When weather is this bad, the tow company is extremely busy,” he said. “We don’t tow very frequently in those kinds of conditions.”

They generally would only tow cars that are blocking traffic or causing a hazard in bad snowstorms.

“The circumstances are the same for us as they are for everybody else,” Houghton said. “Chances are, if people are stuck, so are we.”

CyRide and snow

A few years ago, classes were canceled at 3 p.m., but CyRide kept running until it felt everybody got home safe, said Karen Jamison, CyRide operations supervisor.

“We are able to handle most weather,” Jamison said. “Now and then we have to shut down.”

CyRide would shut down if the roads are completely unsafe, if roads cannot be cleared or if the roads are completely covered with ice, she said.

They also look at what else in town is closed.

“If it is unsafe for us, we are in touch with Iowa State officials to find out what is safe for students,” Jamison said.

CyRide drivers go through classroom and first-hand training to prepare them for driving in bad weather.

“They really have to be watching the other traffic in that weather,” Jamison said. “The schedule is not their number one priority; their number one priority is safety.”

Sheri Kyras, CyRide director of transportation, makes the final decision on whether CyRide buses can run.

For information related to CyRide routes, call 292-1100, or listen to local radio stations KASI or KCCQ.