TWIN FALLS, Idaho — The Magic Valley awoke on Monday morning to the first snowfall of the year.
Monday morning snow blanketed much of the Magic Valley, so much so that the Jerome School District was forced to start late while Idaho Power addressed outages around Jerome.
"When snow comes this heavy and this wet it really sticks to the powerlines, when it sticks to the powerlines it makes them very heavy, and we have lines that go down," said Angela Miller, Education and Outreach for Idaho Power.
Idaho Power was able to restore power in Jerome County quickly. While on the south side of the bridge, the City of Twin Falls also stayed busy with the mid-November flurry.
"It did lay down a coating that instantly kind of froze so we dispatched some of our plows, not all of them, but we wanted to put salt-brine down to prevent any ice from adhering to the roadway," said Josh Palmer with the City of Twin Falls.
While this first snow is just a taste of what's to come, both agencies say it serves as a good reminder for customers and residents to be prepared when the heavy stuff starts to fall.
"Be patient and be prepared. Being patient is if we tell you to stay back, please do, it's for your own safety, and then sign up for outage alerts. But by being prepared, have some flashlights on hand, have some granola bars for the kids, have some things like bottled water, and always be prepared for an extended outage," said Miller.
"This is the first snowstorm of the season, and we expect many more to come for the winter season, and it's going to be more severe. So, we ask people to help us out, one is to drive safer, please don't tailgate, put extra distance between yourself and the vehicle in front of you, leave early, and do everything you can to get yourself there safely and make sure your windshields are clear," said Palmer.
The City of Twin Falls would also like to remind residents that now is a good time to clear out your gutters and drains of leaves and debris to prevent freezing damage.
And when shoveling your driveways and sidewalks, do not shovel snow into the streets or storm drains. This has caused isolated flooding in years past.
Idaho Power would also like to recommend setting up outage notifications on your accounts as well as checking out their Power Outage Map on their website. This will be your best resource for work progress if you find yourself without power this winter.
