Clearing the lanes

Tim Leeds Havre Daily News [email protected]

The snow dropped by recent storms will be cleaned off of a major thoroughfare in Havre over the next few d ays, t h e M o n ta n a D e p a r t m e n t o f Transportation said. “What we're afraid of is if it gets warm and this snow starts to melt and turns to ice, we won't be able to get it off,” said Mike MacDonald, MDT maintenance chief in Havre. MacDonald said crews will be out starting at midnight Wednesday and Thursday to remove snow, including cleaning off the curbs and sidewalks. “We want to get the sidewalks cleaned so patrons can walk on them,” he said. The crews will start on the east end, cleaning from 9th Avenue to 14th Avenue. They will start working to the west Thursday, MacDonald said. He said he expects the crews to be able to finish in two days, but does not know how long it actually will take. Havre has seen a fairly high amount of snow dropped so far this year, although it actually is one of the lower amounts seen around the state. Bob Hoenisch, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Great Falls, said the last two storms have dropped snow across most of Montana, although no extremely heavy amounts have been seen. “The systems in October actually dropped more snow and moisture,” he said. A couple of locations did see some significant accumulations in last weekend's storm, with a location south of Milligan in Meagher County seeing 12 inches and Copper Camp north of Lincoln receiving 13 inches. Havre has one of the lower accumulations, although enough that snow has been piling up in town. In December, Havre has seen 7.4 inches of snow, with a total accumulation of 8.4 inches over the season, the National Weather Service Web site reports. By comparison, Helena has received 8 inches in December but 12.9 inches for the season. Great Falls has had 10.6 inches of snow in December and 17.7 inches for the season. Stanford, which received nine inches in the last storm, has seen 12 inchEs in December and more than two feet of snow for the season. The forecast by the National Weather Service does call for warmer temperatures in Havre, with little snowfall over the next few days. The Weather Service has a forecast high for Wednesday through Saturday in the 30s, with lows in the teens. A slight chance of snow is forecast for Wednesday, with no snow expected through early next week. The temperatures are expected to drop again later, with a highs in the 20s starting Sunday and lows in the teens and into the single digits.