Blizzard By the Numbers: 325 Truckloads of Snow, 400 Tons of Salt

“I finally got a good night’s sleep last night,” said Paul Risinger, Northbrook General Operations Superintendent, while sitting in his office Wednesday—exactly one week after the Blizzard of ’11.

By last Friday, some 48 hours after the last flakes from the blizzard fell to earth, Northbrook's snow removal crews were bringing in heavy artillery to fight to clear streets, sidewalks, and commuter parking lots. That meant one thing; trucking much more snow than usual away. 

After most streets were made passable, deep drifts of snow needed to be removed from the village’s business district and commuter lots. So starting Friday, trucks began carrying it to just a field just north of the and to parking lots in , which were soon filled to capacity

The field just north of the library is a traditional location for village snow removal, but the parking lots in Meadowhill Park were put into action especially for this storm, with permission from the . 

According to Risinger, Northbrook trucks moved 100 loads of snow from the central business district Friday. Another 170 loads were trucked away Saturday, and 55 more followed on Monday from Northbrook’s Metra parking lots. Some also was moved from cul-de sacs. In total, Risinger said, village workers moved 325 truckloads of snow. 

The storm required between 350 and 400 tons of salt for area roads. The village has another 700 tons available, according to its contract with its salt supplier. Costs of manpower, fuel, salt and more were still being totaled a week later, with possible reimbursement of some of those costs coming from Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA may find Cook Country eligible for financial disaster aid because of the storm, but that is still in question. Because Village President Sandra Frum , Northbrook would be eligible for those funds if they were to become available.

According to Risinger, snow that was piled up near residential mailboxes was still being cleared well into this week. In addition to village staff, a local contractor was hired, who supplied one dump truck and front end loader for three days to help clear the snow. 

At the storm’s onset, and until mid morning Thursday, the Public Works staff divided up into two teams of about 20 people each, who worked 12 hour shifts, many manning village plows to clear area streets until Thursday, mid-morning, according to Risinger.

“I needed the big trucks out non-stop for two days,” he said.

Risinger noted that the severe winds and darkness during the climax of the blizzard made for extremely challenging conditions for his snowplow’s drivers. 

Added to Risinger and his crew’s responsibilities over the extraordinary last week were numerous water main breaks in the days after the storm, when temperatures plunged. More such breaks are expected as the ground thaws due to higher temps this weekend, he said.