Friday fog and ice not a good combination

Although milder temperatures make the winter season more bearable in some cases, they can also lead to situations that spelled trouble for area residents this past Friday, January 11. Daytime temperatures that edged toward 40 degrees and some rare January rainfall in the area prior to last Friday allowed a great deal of snow cover to melt away, but when temperatures overnight fell below freezing, some of those melted areas froze again to sheer ice. Adding to the problem of icy road conditions was a heavy fog that resulted from that same warm/cold combination, ultimately resulting in the cancellation of classes in area schools for Friday and numerous accidents throughout the county, some on county gravel roads reported as "100 percent ice covered".
One weather-related accident, pictured in the two photos above at right, occurred at the intersection of 11th Avenue SW and Hwy. 76 South by Waukon City Park on the south edge of Waukon. A report from the Waukon Police Department indicates that Brittany Dull, age 24, of Waukon pulled out from the stop sign on 11th Avenue SW in the van pictured above into the path of a southbound car driven by Conley Meyer, age 72, of West Union at approximately 2 p.m. Friday, January 11. Both drivers were transported by ambulance to Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon, where they were treated and released, with passengers in each vehicle being assessed on scene and not requiring further medical attention. Poor visibility due to Friday's foggy conditions were explained as being a factor in the accident, although charges are still pending.
One of the more major accidents that occurred Friday involved a Postville Community School District school bus sliding through an icy intersection during its morning route at the intersection of Hawkweed Drive and Ludlow Road southwest of Waukon, entering the facing ditch and sliding down an embankment into a residential yard. Six students and the bus driver were transported by ambulance to Veterans Memorial Hospital in Waukon, where five of the students and the bus driver were treated and released. One student was later transferred to a hospital in La Crosse, WI for further treatment of injuries sustained in the accident, which remains under investigation by the Allamakee County Sheriff’s Department.