Potentially paralyzing winter storm to start today, end Thursday morning
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As if 2020 could get any worse, a winter storm may dump up to 15 inches of snow over the course of the next day. Snow is expected to begin in Williamsport about noon today, according to the National Weather Service in State College.
The expected paralyzing Nor'easter will have state Department of Transportation and city plow truck operators working for hours on end and will require patience among those already suffering from pandemic fatigue leading up to one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year.
"It could be a crippling snow," said Adam Winder, acting general manager of the city streets and parks department, which has 15 drivers planning to plow straight through the storm and anticipated potential use of a combination of salt and cinders depending on temperature of the road surfaces.
The city fleet included 18 trucks of various sizes. The largest are 10-ton, 5-ton and pickup trucks and there is snow removal equipment at River Valley Transit used in the Central Business District parking lots, Winder said.
Main streets will be followed by secondary streets, he said. Alleys won't get plowed until about Thursday afternoon through Friday morning, he said.
River Valley Transit bus service will use emergency routes, which means limiting drop-off locations, Winder said. He also serves as general manager of transit service.
Mayor Derek Slaughter, in a statement, asked for patience as crews removed snow from streets and were prepared to transport it via dump trucks to Bowman Field once the storm stops.
The biggest issue during the storm will be residents, if possible, getting their vehicles off the streets, Winder said.
Many of the city streets are narrow, he said, and parked cars take up needed space.
"It makes it challenging for the truck operators," he said.
Once the accumulation becomes heavy, the secondary truck drivers are anticipating teaming up with the larger plow trucks to do the job.
The goal from the start of the storm is to keep the main thoroughfares open, particularly for fire, police and ambulance personnel, Winder said.
In alleys, used by many to access garages at the rear of residences, the plan is to use roughly 15 employees to clear smaller streets and alleys, Winder said.
The city is working with PennDOT and each signed a new winter maintenance agreement, approved by City Council, which required PennDOT to pay the city to clear some of the state-maintained streets in the city, Winder said.
PennDOT also plows and spreads cinders on some city roads and streets. The state-maintained streets include: Washington Boulevard, High Street, Grampian Boulevard and Hepburn Street. The city maintains West Fourth and Third and East Fourth and Third streets along with Via Bella and Arch Street, Winder said.
The coordination between public works personnel and those in the police, fire and codes departments is at its highest during these storms, Winder said. The relationship has continued to be forged this year, especially with COVID-19 affecting areas of the city workforce.
If the situation warrants it, Winder said he will climb into a plow truck, bringing the count up to 16 employees to work specifically on plowing streets and alleys.
The other departments in the city are able to be tapped if an operator is sick, needs a rest or must be replaced, Winder said.
"That plan is in place but does not necessarily need to be used," he said.
For those who need to contact the city public works department office, an on-call individual will answer the telephone for incidents that arise in a non-emergency and emergency situation, Winder said. It will be a long storm that "we will diligently and efficiently work through," he said.
PennDOT trucks also will be attending to roadways and bridges in the nine-county District 3 region, said Kim Smith, department spokeswoman.
With heavy snow forecast the state is pre-treating major roads in advance of the winter weather forecast, Smith said.
Anti-icing trucks may be seen along high-volume roads in the district region in Bradford, Columbia, Lycoming, Montour, Northumberland, Snyder, Sullivan, Tioga and Union counties.
Anti-icing involves wetting the highway with salt brine before a storm's arrival. The solution lowers the freezing point of water and slows or prevents ice from forming a bond with the pavement during the early stages of a storm. The salt brine is spread from sprayers attached to the brine tank on PennDOT trucks. The trucks have signs on the backs indicating their purpose.
The department's primary goal is to keep roads passable, not completely free of ice and snow. PennDOT will treat roadways throughout the storm until precipitation stops and roads are clear.
While PennDOT recommends not traveling during winter storms, motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles, including color-coded winter conditions on 2,900 miles, by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras.
The department also asked motorists to allow plenty of space when driving near plow trucks. Also, for their own safety and the safety of plow operators, motorists should never attempt to pass a truck while it is plowing or spreading winter materials, Smith said.