KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Mother Nature dished out an October surprise for many people in the Kansas City area on Wednesday.
As snow lightly blanketed the metro, some people said they enjoyed the change in weather.
"Mother Summer didn’t want to leave, so I’m really happy for the colder weather now,” said Linda Leveine-Madori, who was visiting from New York. “I really had enough of summer.”
Others celebrated an early start to their favorite season.
"I love snow; I’ve always loved snow,” said Juliana Vanderent, who was shopping Wednesday afternoon on the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, Missouri. “Winter is my favorite season.”
But for others, the snow was an unwelcome occurrence on the day before Halloween.
"Shouldn’t be snowing on the pumpkin and the kids got to trick or treat on top of that,” Kansas City, Missouri, resident Dan King said. “Not a good deal.”
However, the snow also means big business for area companies that combine lawn care and snow removal services— some of which planned to handle both this week.
"We have customers that we mowed for on Tuesday and (we’re) possibly doing snow removal for them this evening or tomorrow, then possibly back to mowing the next couple weeks and leaf removal for them in November, December," said Zach Scheier, general manager of LDK Lawn Services in Overland Park.
His company has seven trucks, which were set up with plows on Wednesday, and a staff of 15 people that work year-round because of the different services the business provides.
In a weather event such as this, Scheier said they try to make sure they have enough salt and sand for their customers.
"We do need to make sure we’ve got a lot of material coming in to be able to last through the winter time,” he said. “It’s always tough to predict how much we’re going to need so we kind of like to err on the side of caution.”
As the weather changes, other companies were reminding people of the importance of winterizing their vehicle. Some things to check on include the vehicle’s brakes as well as tire tread.
"Your tires are going to get low. That little annoying light comes on the dash,” said Richard Pitnick, service adviser for KC Complete Auto. “Then the battery is normally the second thing that goes. Obviously you want to make sure your fluids are good, your coolant, your transmission fluid, your oil changed. That way you are prepared if you’re stuck in a traffic jam for several hours.”
Pitnick said that if you’re not sure how to check your tire pressure or what number it should be at, it's typically on the driver-side door.
