CARDWELL - This spring storm has brought heavy winds and snow to Jefferson County forcing many motorists to get stuck on the side of the road and road crews to work overtime to try to keep these roadways as clear as possible.
“This is the kind of storm we’re supposed to have in February and, no, I was in for a total surprise, total shock,” said Whitehall resident Gretchen Ressler.
Like many motorists caught in the storm that started Monday evening, Gretchen Ressler got stuck in the snow on the pass at Cardwell.
“It just slid right off the road and into the ditch and the snow was horizontal, it was pitch black and all I could see was snow, so I had to leave the car there overnight,” said Ressler.
Experienced truckers were also surprised by this storm.
“This one is a good one, this one is going to be, you know, we’ll remember this one for a long time,” said Billings trucker Rod Albaugh.
Out on Highway 359 south of Cardwell, they’re dealing with deep and blowing snow along this roadway, especially for truckers like that one ahead of me, who’s been stuck.
“March, April, they are bad driving months, I’ve always said, you know, if they could take those two months out of the year for driving, it would make my job a lot easier,” said Albaugh.
In Pony, there were reports of 3 feet of snow. I tried to make my way there, but the roads were closed due to deep snow.
I managed to reach a couple from Pony over the phone.
“Nobody’s going anywhere here unless you’re huffing it on snowshoes or digging out a snow machine to go ride,” said Brad Lecklider.
Brad and his wife Connie haven’t seen this much snow in Pony in years and are concerned for their neighbors.
“We’re just going to get our gear on and go check on some of the neighbors up here, there are some elderly folks that live around us even though we're retired. So, yeah, we’re going to go out and travel around in about waist-deep snow for the fun of it,” said Lecklider.
NOTE: New local storm report. Almost 4 feet (47") of new snow in the last 24 hours in the Tobacco Root Mountains near Pony at the Albro Lake Snotel.
