Johnson County officials told commissioners Jan. 9 that county emergency operations, public-works crews and first responders worked extended hours to respond to a late-winter blizzard that brought rare, heavy snowfall to the metro area.

County Manager Penny Postoak Ferguson and emergency management staff described a coordinated response that included activating the county Emergency Operations Center (EOC), extended public-works clearing shifts and heavy demand on emergency dispatch services.

“Some parts of Johnson County received over a foot of snow,” County Manager Penny Postoak Ferguson said, and she thanked frontline staff across multiple departments for extended work during the event. She said public-works crews, facilities management and airport crews cleared roads, runways, parking lots and sidewalks and that employees were being recognized for their work.

Dan Robison, emergency management division, said the EOC opened at noon on Saturday and stayed active through Tuesday. “We started monitoring it last Thursday when the National Weather Service issued the winter weather watch,” he said. Robison said the weather service upgraded warnings to a blizzard warning — a rare designation: “The last time we had a blizzard warning in Johnson County was in 2018.”

Officials gave the board a snapshot of operational volumes during the storm period: emergency communications answered far more calls per hour than typical — staff reported 68 to 109 calls an hour compared with a normal rate of 12 to 44 — and county dispatch handled about 700 calls during the same initial period. The county said public works plowed and treated about 220 miles of paved roads and cleared approximately 136 miles of gravel roads during the response period. Deputies responded to roughly 125 motor-assist and accident calls.

County staff noted the governor declared a state disaster during the event and that county teams were coordinating with state partners to determine federal-assistance eligibility; at the time of the briefing the county reported no formal requests for outside assistance.

Managers emphasized lessons learned and after-action work. “Facilities and public works have already had debriefs and are preparing for another storm,” Postoak Ferguson said. Robison said the county will continue to coordinate regionally and work with partners to refine response plans.

Ending: Commissioners thanked emergency staff and noted a regional loss of life during the storm in a neighboring jurisdiction, underscoring the risks crews accepted to keep residents safe.