Snow in IF - Road Clearing and Power Outages? (Idaho Falls: HOA fees, townhomes)

[Vegas-to-?]

Are there a lot of power outages in Idaho Falls in the wintertime? And how long can they typically last?
Also, how well are the roads cleared of snow after a storm (not just in the city, but the residential areas too?)

[cleosmom]

The City of IF maintains the roads pretty decently and in the outlaying areas they are finally treating with brine. Major arteries in the city limits and school bus routes both in and out are tended to first. I'm east of the city in a subdivision and it takes a few inches before we're plowed, but with the brine and the dirt it tends to help grab some traction.

Rocky Mtn Power is who I get my electricity through and the only time I've experienced an outage is on a windless, sunny day and the temp of about 55*. When we lived in the city limits, it did go out a time or two with thunderstorms.

[Vegas-to-?]

Do HOA's take care of plowing snow within the residential communities? I don't mind paying HOA fees as long as I get something in return for those fees.

[cleosmom]

Originally Posted by Vegas-to-?

Do HOA's take care of plowing snow within the residential communities? I don't mind paying HOA fees as long as I get something in return for those fees.

I know there is a set of townhomes that the HOA takes care of such. My subdivision is so old I doubt they even know we have rules

[Vegas-to-?]

So it doesn't sound like everything comes to a grinding stop in Idaho Falls after a bad snow storm then?

[cleosmom]

Originally Posted by Vegas-to-?

So it doesn't sound like everything comes to a grinding stop in Idaho Falls after a bad snow storm then?

Are you kidding me? I've lived here since '91 and the first time I've witnessed both school districts and the college hold snow day was the last Monday of this past January. Nothing comes to a halt..... might slow up a tad, but no grinding halts.

[pw72]

Yes, agreed. IF is prepared and does a good job with snow. In my seven years here I have never seen a storm greater than about 8 inches at once. Even then, there is a good city response, with additional private operators hovering around as well. As I said in another thread, the city is mostly flat, so driving is not difficult even in bad storms. The only problem I really have even encountered is after a significant snow the medians on major streets can start to tower up, and it gets tricky to cross the center lane in places. Even then, though, they clear those off within a couple of days. 96 forecast for Wednesday, so I guess talking about this stuff now is less painful.

[beeneverywhereman]

I will add that the city of IF does not plow the low volume residential roads if there is less than a 4" snow fall in 24 hours. Due to the dry snow here, this is usually not a problem.

The main highways and and primary city streets are well taken care of.

As stated before, snow fall will likely slow you down, but it does not stop you.

Also, in the outlying areas, the roads to close occasionally, mostly due to wind blown snow and snow drifts. I have seen this last for a couple of days, but there are usually alternate, but slower routes to take.