It’s Calling for Snow…

If the weather didn’t change once in a while, most people wouldn’t know how to start a conversation….

The weather will always be a daily topic of conversation in Nova Scotia, especially during the winter months. When the season of snow and ice begins, so do the studying of forecasts, the prepping of salt trucks and snow plows, and many hours of planning, clearing and clean up.

Forecast is calling for snow… could get as much as 10-15 cm… might see some ice pellets… then turning to rain… rapid freeze after…

This sounds all too familiar for HRM’s winter operations team. Once the forecast of a snow or ice event comes in, the group meets, determines a strategy based on the information in the forecast, and gets to work.

The plan of attack depends on a number of factors:

• the kind of snow (it could be heavy, wet, intense or light)
  
• temperatures (they differ for air and pavement and those differences play a significant role in planning and carrying out operations)
  
• depth of frost
  
• area

The team then looks at when to start anti-icing, where to apply salt, where crews should focus efforts, and when to coordinate clean up, along with all the possible challenges that get faced during a storm.

Those challenges could be:

• a significant drop in temperature (salt may not be effective)
  
• time of day (is it a high traffic time?)
  
• if the forecast was accurate (is the snow coming in earlier and heavier?)

When and how to utilize the 95 plow/salt trucks, 62 loaders and graders, 75 pieces of sidewalk equipment and another 35 pieces of street equipment to clean the 3,800-lane kms of roads, 750 kms of sidewalks, 3,000 bus stops and 18,000 catch basins is a lot of moving parts in a 24-hour window.

Often, things run smoothly. Other times, conditions and circumstances create difficult situations. Every storm is unique and the work is challenging but the goal remains the same: to make every effort to keep HRM roads clear and safe for all residents.