Winter in Illinois and solar panels

We found out today that the panels don't generate anything with a thick coating of snow. Our roof is about 42 degrees pitch so you can't stand on it in the summer time with out having ropes so it's very difficult to climb up on a 10/10 roof and remove snow off of the panels. We bought a extention rod with a squeegy on it to stand on a ladder and pull the snow down. This works well if the snow is light. We had a large snow fall and was almost impossible to clear. After we did get the snow off the power gernerated was even greater than ever. I think the reflection and the cool temperatures warranted this. We did have a second row of panel on the opposite side of the house and the snow just fell off of them.