A December to remember

Omahans struggled to get back to normal Saturday after a Christmas storm dumped nearly 11 inches of snow on the metro area.

People shoveled their sidewalks and dug out their vehicles, but many weren't able to drive very far.

Major retailers weren't nearly as busy as they normally are on the day after Christmas. Eppley Airfield continued to deal with delays.

Some businesses didn't even bother opening Saturday, including Wells Fargo and First National Bank branches in Omaha.

Some hair and nail salons were closed on one of the busiest days of the week for manicures and haircuts.

“It's been one of the snowiest Decembers we have ever had in this region,” said Barbara Mayes, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service office in Valley.

Omaha has tallied 22.8 inches of snow this month, the most of any December in the past 61 years.

The Christmas storm alone dumped 10.9 inches on the metro area as of 6 a.m. Saturday.

Bad as it was in Omaha, snowfall was even heavier in other parts of eastern Nebraska and southwest Iowa. Norfolk recorded 17.9 inches, while Shenandoah, Iowa, reported 14.5 inches.

Lighter snow and calmer winds on Saturday allowed Omaha snow removal crews to get a jump on plowing residential streets, but the amount of snow still posed a challenge.

“This storm will present us with problems we haven't seen for a while, with the drifting and quantity of snow,” said Scott McIntyre, the city's street maintenance engineer.

“There are some 2-foot drifts out there. The standard snow plow can't get through some of the drifts and accumulations. We are going to have to go back with other equipment.”

Highways and streets in the region were slick and snow-packed.

Westbound Interstate 80, from Gretna to Grand Island, reopened Saturday night after being closed for about 24 hours.

Omaha police stopped responding to property damage accidents because “there were too many,'' said Officer Jacob Bettin, a police spokesman.

Police also were overwhelmed with 911 calls regarding stuck cars blocking driveways on side streets.

Neighbors often pitched in to help.

At least seven families in the 52nd and Burt Streets area worked with snow blowers to clear the sidewalks and streets.

“To move into this type of neighborhood has been just amazing,” said Brian Briggeman, whose wife recently gave birth. “It's been a huge help to have neighbors who are willing to come out and lend a helping hand.”

The difficulty in digging out slowed retail traffic across the city.

Nebraska Furniture Mart was fully staffed and open, but Bob Batt, executive vice president, called it “quiet” for a shopping day that is usually “crazy.”

“When the day after Christmas falls on Saturday, it's unbelievably busy,” Batt said. “But the weather is powerful and is taking its toll. We have been doing great up until this latest storm.”

It was the same story for West-roads Mall.

“It's slower than what we would expect for the day after Christmas,” said Jim Sadler, general manager.

“I think most people can't even get out of their neighborhoods yet. Typically, it's a very busy day, but obviously with the snow it's keeping people home.”

Many travelers were still stranded in airports.

Chris Martin, director of operations for Eppley Airfield, said the FAA-mandated grounding of aircraft in Chicago and Denver caused delays Saturday for both arriving and departing flights.

Martin said the weather has affected flights throughout the Midwest, but a couple of airlines sent in additional aircraft to make up for cancellations.

“Things are getting pretty close to normal,” he said. “Passenger traffic is about normal right now, and we expect that to continue since the very bad weather seems to have subsided.”

McIntyre said there's still significant plowing work to be done across the city, including on main and secondary streets. He said crews likely will be working on snow removal through the end of this week.

As of Saturday afternoon, he said, crews had made their way through 30 percent to 40 percent of residential streets.

McIntyre said workers were getting frustrated with residents pushing snow that had been plowed back into the street. “It's just inconsiderate,” he said.

He's hoping to have all residential streets at least passable for the Monday commute.

He said he's optimistic “we'll be in reasonable shape and we'll have downtown pretty cleared out and major streets by Monday as well.''

“We haven't had this much snow for a while, probably five years,” McIntyre said. “When we experience these problems, we ask for understanding and patience as we work through them.”

Dale Butler, Nebraska Department of Roads operations manager for the Omaha area, said light traffic made plowing highways and interstates a little easier. But there was still a big problem: the wind.

“The roads are snow-packed, and we've got the wind every now and then causing white-outs,” he said.

“It's knocking the drifts back, and we've been constantly making rounds trying to keep the drifts back and push them off the road.”

He said the roads also have not been treated with salt yet because of the wind. “It doesn't do any good.”

People should be cautious and reduce speed if traveling. Otherwise, he said, stay home.

Contact the writer:

444-1336, leia.mendoza@owh.com