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We Energies, public works crews, plow drivers preparing for winter weather Wednesday

This comes as many stores throughout Southeast Wisconsin are running low on rock salt and calcium chloride.
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MILWAUKEE — We Energies crews have been making sure all of their equipment is functioning properly in preparation of severe winter weather expected Wednesday.

“We follow the weather reports closely and have been conducting conference calls and making plans so we’re ready,” said Amy Jahns, a spokesperson for We Energies. “We’re making sure we have enough people on staff and are checking to make sure there’s people we can call in if needed.”

If you lose power or notice a downed power line, you should alert We Energies via phone, website, or the company’s phone app. Don’t assume they already know about it.

“We’re most concerned about ice and wind,” Jahns said. “When ice builds on trees and branches, they can break and come down on our lines and equipment causing outages. Obviously, heavy wind can have a similar effect.”

This comes as many stores throughout Southeast Wisconsin are running low on rock salt and calcium chloride. The Walmart in South Milwaukee is completely out of rock salt. It’s hoping for a truckload Tuesday night. The Home Depot on Port Washington Road in Milwaukee only had a few bags left as of Tuesday afternoon.

“We pick up some the rock salt and calcium chloride from local manufacturers we’ve had a long working relationship with, so we are able to stay on top of it,” said Scott Ponfil of Village Ace Hardware in Glendale. “Calcium chloride is really what you want. It works better to melt ice and is much more effective in colder temperatures. It also doesn’t damage the concrete, lawns, and plants as much.”

As with any winter weather, shovels, ice scrapers and jugs of windshield de-icer are also hot ticket items.

“A lot of people have been coming in to get stuff with the impending words of doom for tomorrow with the ice and snow,” Ponfil said.

TMJ4 News also reached out to Milwaukee’s Department of Public Works, which shared this update with us Tuesday afternoon:

"The mix of rain/sleet/freezing rain expected to arrive Wednesday late morning will likely present hazardous conditions. We advise avoiding travel or traveling with extreme caution.

DPW began a city-wide brine operation of main routes Tuesday morning at 6:30am. In tracking the storm and monitoring conditions, we are prepared to initiate an overnight salting operation if needed, initially addressing the side streets, then possibly the main routes. If no operation is conducted overnight Tuesday into Wednesday, we will begin pre-salting at 5 a.m. Wednesday, again if needed.

There is a possibility recycling and garbage collection will be delayed or canceled. Changes and/or updates will be communicated. Residents can check for updates to the scheduled collection days at city.milwaukee.gov."

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