HUXLEY, Iowa — A winter storm is forecasted to bring several inches of snow to Des Moines and the surrounding areas on Thursday. While tax dollars pay for clearing roads and highways, independent companies are prepared to plow parking lots and driveways.

That list of companies includes Pitts Lawn and Tree Service in Huxley, which switches its focus from landscaping to snow removal in the winter months.

“We get the shine when it snows, and when it doesn’t snow, no one thinks about us,” said owner Brandon Pitts. “When we get the big snowstorms, we definitely want to be out doing our jobs.”

Pitts said his company is set to clear snow from nearly a hundred homes when the snow starts to pile up. He said his company is also responsible for clearing the parking lots of several hardware stores and the Love’s Travel Stop in Ellsworth.

The company has twenty drivers ready to go when the snow slows down. Pitts said it could be an all-day job for all twenty of those drivers if the weather meets or exceeds its forecast.

“It all depends on the snow,” Pitts said. “If it’s one or two inches, we can get a parking lot done pretty quickly, but when you get five or six inches, Menard’s can take five hours. We do prefer two-inch snow, but we’ll do whatever is needed.”