Snow on top of ice and freezing temperatures are wreaking havoc for the Pea Ridge Street Department.
Repairing broken chains on the salt/sand spreader Tuesday morning, Nathan See, Street Department superintendent, said the mixture froze in the equipment.
He said the salt will melt ice down to about 15º and that the sand will help warm up the salt when the sun is shining. Monday's temperatures did not rise above 10º Monday but were expected to be in the mid-30º range Tuesday.
"We're trying to get out and spread salt and sand while the sun is out. We're going to see what we can do," See said about clearing city streets.
"We're using every piece of equipment," he said.
See said the department has already used $12,000 for salt since the first snow storm Dec. 5. Adding in the additional fuel and man hours, he anticipates budget problems for the year.
"It's going to hurt everybody -- county, state. We haven't had this kind of winter in a few years," See said.
"We're getting out sanding the intersections and hills this morning," he said.
Pea Ridge Police and emergency medical personnel answered two calls Monday evening for young children locked in cars -- one car was running, one wasn't. Both children were safe.
Snow fall the first weekend in December 2013 totaled 12 inches, according to Bill Ryan, retired meteorologist in Pea Ridge. This week's snow totaled 4.2 inches -- 3.2 on Jan. 5 preceded by .43 inches of precipitation, followed by .08 inches of precipitation and then 1 inch of snow on Jan. 6.
Ryan, a native of northeast Benton County, said he remembers winters this cold and said the climatological records for temperature are kept for Fayetteville. He said the record cold temperatures for Fayetteville are -14º for December, -15º for January and -18º for February.
General News on 01/08/2014