Tag: Iowa winter

Tegeler Wrecker and Crane is the Heavy Rescue Team in Eastern Iowa

We saw the KCRG news item about Tegeler Wrecker & Crane getting almost 10,000 calls for help after the big snowstorms last week. They’re a big towing and wrecker service which reminded me of the Weather Channel shows Highway Thru Hell and Heavy Rescue 401. Tegeler pretty much does everything they do, including heavy duty towing and recovery, air cushion recovery, roadside assistance, and more. You can see their operation on Facebook. They go pretty much everywhere, including Iowa City.

We don’t have anything like the Coquihalla here, but I-80 was all but impassable around Iowa City last week. One similarity is that many drivers didn’t pull off the road to someplace safe to ride it out. I guess that’s how similar Americans are to Canadians.

We’re not out of the arctic blast just yet. We’re supposed to get a January thaw early next week.

Kurten, A. (2024, January 16). Towing company receives almost 10,000 calls for help after winter storm. KCRG.com. Channel 9 ABC. https://www.kcrg.com/2024/01/17/towing-company-receives-almost-10000-calls-help-after-winter-storm/

Iowa Snowstorm Aftermath

We got 10.5 inches of snow from the storm yesterday, according to National Weather Service statistics. It was in the single digits and about 3 below zero with the wind chill this morning. We had to shovel one more time. It was slippery because there was ice on the driveway and sidewalk underneath the snow.

Yesterday the snow plow plugged our driveway and the curb ramp. We managed to get the driveway cleared. I had to clear the curb ramp this morning.

Then the plow came through again. But he didn’t plug the ramp again. Instead, he carefully scraped around it—maybe because we were outside watching him at the time. Thank goodness for small miracles.

It’s chilly but sunny. The ice is melting. The forecast says it’ll be icy next Wednesday. Furthermore, there is more snow coming next Thursday. That’ll make 3 Thursdays in a row that snowstorms hammer us.

What is it about Thursdays?

Snowball Juggling!

Yesterday after we shoveled our sidewalks and driveway (again!) we went for a walk. Yes, we finally lost our minds. In fact, the temperature was a balmy 14 degrees. We almost put on shorts.

It was a little breezy. The city plows had not been out. It was their day off. Because of that, there were plenty of chunks of snow, a few of which were about the size of—yep, you guessed it—juggling balls.

We couldn’t get them formed exactly round, like they did in that TV commercial for cold medicine. That’s where I got the harebrained idea to try juggling snowballs in the first place.

You don’t want to try juggling snowballs barehanded. I can’t stop you from trying, just saying that my hands did smart when I tried it.

Next time, I’ll make sure the snowballs are round.