Not Everyone Pleased By Lack Of Snow
(CBS) -- Not nearly a white Christmas, and now a snow-less New Year's Eve. It is fine for some, but not everyone.
CBS 2's Dana Kozlov reports in Evanston, a front loader pushed salt back into a salt dome on December 31.
"As compared to last year it is incredibly unusual," said Jim Maiworm, Evanston Assistant Director of Public Works.
Flashback exactly twelve months and you might remember a snowy New Year's Eve so dense, flakes filtered light in the late afternoon sky. Today, not a sprinkle of moisture anywhere.
"We've had four storms that we responded to as compared to about 22 last year at this time," Maiworm said.
Drive west a bit and it's the same story in Skokie. Its head of public works says the village has spent $20,000 on salt so far this year compared to $100,000 last December 31.
Plows are idle and crews are out on other jobs with no overtime in sight. If the snow situation stays status quo, Max Slankard, Skokie Director of Public Works, says they're facing a storage crunch.
"We're going to need have some of that inventory move or we're going to be in a position of trying to figure out where we're going to store the salt that we are going to have to buy," Slankard.
Taxpayers may benefit but it's no boon to stores like Skokie Ace Hardware. A year ago, they had trouble keeping the shelves stocked. Now, it loaded with winter necessities. Problem is, no one is buying them.
"It's gonna hurt, but weather we just cannot predict," said Mike Patel, manager at Skokie Ace Hardware.
Patel says customers are buying other non-seasonal things.