The first significant snowfall of the winter struck Marshalltown in the early morning hours, dumping an estimated 2 to 4 inches and causing a two-hour delayed start for the Marshalltown School District.

Superintendent Theron Schutte said he made the decision to delay the start of school at 5:30 a.m. and emails were sent to local media outlets. Schutte said a post was also placed on the school district Facebook page and notices were sent to parents.

However not everyone received those alerts. Communications director Adam Sodders, whose first day on the job was Monday, said an email about the late start was pushed out at 6:40 a.m. Some people did not receive that notification until 8:15 a.m. and some students waited for buses until people notified them of the late start.

“There is a glitch in the system,” Sodders said. “We do not know why it happened. We are looking into it so we don’t have the issue again.”

T-R PHOTO BY LANA BRADSTREAM Marshalltown resident Dennis Akins resurrected his snow blower on Monday morning after the area received 2-4 inches of snow.

Schutte said the school district got caught with the snow on Monday morning. It happened to fall mere hours before Sodders was scheduled to begin his duties.

Schutte bases his decision on whether or not to delay or cancel school upon the amount of snow and ice, how cold it gets and the ability of the city of Marshalltown and Marshall County to plow the roads.

The city Public Works Street Department was out at 3 a.m. with 14 plows clearing the roads, which were still not clear at 1:30 p.m.

“After we plowed, some areas refroze,” said public works director Justin Nickel. “The city’s goal is to plow all streets within 12 to 14 hours after the snowfall.”

Due to the timing of the storm, the city was unable to implement the emergency snow routes.

T-R PHOTO BY MIKE DONAHEY Marshalltown resident Tony Varnum was busy shoveling snow off sidewalks in front of several West Main Street properties Monday morning.

Contact Lana Bradstream at 641-753-6611 or lbradstream@timesrepublican.com.