BELOIT (WKOW) — On the edge of one of the first winter storms to hit the Midwest, Beloit saw about four inches of snow Sunday night.
City communications director Sarah Millard said the city has been preparing for the storm for days, expecting between one and eight inches of snow.
“We actually have about five dozen people working on this snow operation anywhere from admin staff, to plow drivers, to supervisors,” she said. “It’s an all hands on deck kind of operation.”
The storm hit the city around 3 p.m. but the snow didn’t really stick until after 6 p.m. when temperatures dropped below freezing and the wind picked up. Millard said public works called out 20 plows to deal with the rising snowfall.
“They’ll be plowing all night overnight trying to clear out all of the roads,” she said.
Throughout the night, travel conditions worsened. Swirling snow and icy roads meant few people were out in downtown Beloit, besides a few sightseers and those left working.
During her shift, Taylor Scroggins said only a handful of customers ventured to the restaurant where she worked.
She said she wasn’t too concerned with the slow pace, but wasn’t looking forward to driving home. That’s despite her experience with the snow.
“I still hate it,” Scroggins said. “I prefer to just not deal with it.”
One of the few customers to brave the elements was Codey Cross.
“I’m the hungry person who wanted to go out and get a burger in the snowstorm,” he said.
Cross said the only difference between a typical trip downtown and travel during Sunday’s storm was his mode of transportation.
“It’s not bad for Wisconsin at all. I walked here with it,” he said. “My face hurts a little but it’s normal Wisconsin.”
While the people of Beloit agree a November storm is nothing new, no one is looking forward to Monday morning’s commute.
Cross said he’s hoping the plows make quick work of the streets, the wind dies down and Beloit will see the 40 degree temperatures that came at the end of last week.
“I’m used to it being sunny and nice in the morning and blizzard at night,” he said. “[Monday] it might just be really nice out who knows?”
As Beloit prepares to dig out, they have little company in Rock County. Just 20 miles north, Janesville only saw a few flurries from the storm.
More on this story at WKOW 27 News