This was the year of snow.

But how much snow fell in Kenosha during the winter of 2007-08 was a matter of debate.

John Prijic, Kenosha streets supervisor, said his tabulations showed at least 103.5 inches covered the city. Wisconsin weather data put the total at 83.5 inches, still considered a record by state officials.

The snowstorms struck the area with regularity, dumping snow one day, taking a break for a few days, then adding to the total a few days later.

Kenosha Public Works officials said employees had worked every weekend between early December and early March removing snow and ice, causing a spike in personnel costs. Government budgets also were strained by heavy use of street salt.

The city had used more than 2½ times the typical amount of salt by March. It had to alter its standard salting approach a few weeks before then, limiting salt to certain intersections, hills, curves and stop signs, and mixing it with sand.

In addition, road equipment depreciated heavily as it had constant use to remove the wet snow and solid ice.

About 15 inches of snow fell in the area Feb. 5-6, and smaller snowstorms followed.

By early March, the city had an estimated 84 inches of snow for the season. But there was to be more.

A March 20-21 snowstorm dumped 15 inches here by the time it finished. That pushed the winter of 2008 into the third highest snowfall amount, behind 90 inches during 1978-79 and some 110 inches during 1885-86. State officials said the 1885-86 measurement was by observers and not by formal measuring equipment.

The 12 inches that fell March 20 broke the March record for a one-day measurement. The old record was 9 inches, on March 17, 1965, according to the state weather Web site.

Removing it and driving through it was bad enough. But when it melted away, it didn’t go away. It instead rushed into the Fox River, causing extensive flooding in Kenosha County. In early March, the river reached just over 12 feet. Flood stage is considered 10 feet.

By early April, the Kenosha County executive had declared a state of emergency twice in three weeks because of predicted flooding.

Federal Emergency Management Agency Disaster funds were awarded to Kenosha County, the city of Kenosha and the village of Pleasant Prairie for the the Feb. 5-6 storm.

The weather also created many more potholes than usual. The city had several repair crews for the road annoyances, but the workers were limited to quick fixes for the time being.

There also were reports from a local physical therapy clinic about a slight rise in the number of lower back strains associated with snow and ice removal.