Well, folks, it looks like you’re getting your white Christmas after all.
But it’s coming with a side order of freezing winds and a whole lot of potentially hazardous driving.
Road crews and governmental entities are and have been in full-on planning mode this week in anticipation of the winter storm that is impending and, by all predicted accounts, should begin sometime early Friday morning and continue into the weekend.
This is the Upper Ohio Valley, after all, so snowstorms and taking precautions are nothing new, but what has officials worried is the type of conditions this particular storm shall bring. In particular, it’s the expected rapid snap freeze that is causing the most headaches throughout the tri-state region.
“Our foreman has been drafting a plan for Friday, because of the rain that’s coming Thursday night it will start turning colder at 4 a.m. and, within a few hours, it’ll go from the 40s down into the teens, if not single digits,” said Richland Township Trustee Rick Farrell. “We’ll have a freeze, and then snow, and with the rapid decrease, it’s going to make it difficult for us to salt.”
The main problem will be the rapid temperature decline predicted for East Ohio and the Northern Panhandle.
Salt by itself works well to help with snowy conditions, but only to a point. Once it dips down into the single digits, salt alone is ineffective at best. Colder conditions require the use of a salt, grit, and sand mixture.
Richland Township alone has 95 miles of roadway to clear. That mixture will help once most areas once the temperature drops, but not all.
“There are some areas where we can’t utilize that method because we have drainage issues,” Ferrell said. “In those instances, when it gets to a certain temperature, we are unable to get it off the road and Mother Nature will have to help us clear the road once the temperature starts to rise.”
This is not just a township issue as all road crews that will be out starting Friday must contend with the rapidly-dropping temperatures. When possible, give the crews time to clear and treat the roadways before beginning your travel plans whenever possible.
“Perfect” Timing
Ferrell took to Facebook earlier this week for township residents and drivers in general, stressing patience and, if possible a request to stay home, especially during the early hours of Friday morning.
Driving in snowy, and especially icy, conditions can be treacherous. That’s why the sheriff’s office in each county can and will put out a snow emergency warning and designate Level 1, 2, or even 3 emergencies. The higher the level, the fewer cars are allowed to be on the roadways.
Under normal circumstances, citizens are more than happy to hunker down at home during a weekend storm, lest they chance an accident being out on the roadways.
This weekend, however, is not a normal weekend.
With Christmas Eve coming Saturday and Christmas Day following, local, county, and state roadways are sure to be filled with holiday travelers this weekend, longing to spend some quality time with their families all across the country.
It will only add to the headaches and potential danger caused by this coming winter storm.
“It couldn’t come at a worse time,” Ferrell said. “Families plan all year long to get together at Christmas, and we are trying to draft a plan where we can get these roads as passable as possible on Saturday and Sunday.
“We’re just hoping it’s not going to transpire as they say.”
The issues are further troubling for smaller entities like Townships.
ODOT, for example, has a number of employees ready to hop into salt trucks and began clearing the roadways.
Richland Township, by comparison, has six employees, all of whom will work a regular work week and will be subject to laws restricting the number of consecutive hours worked without a break.
“Our crew is always on standby for any type of event, but when we are anticipating bad weather, we try to plan accordingly,” Ferrell said. “We can only have the crew out for so many hours in the day, and we don’t have the replacements for them, so there are times we just don’t have the hours for them to get the roads clear.
“This is not a 24-7 operation and it’s difficult to keep up with unplanned weather because it can happen any time.”
This weather event is more so planned, so Ferrell said that’s been able to be taken into account for work later in the week. If it’s snowing, someone will be plowing at all times. It’s just, with such a small crew, all six can’t be plowing at the same time, all night, without a mandated break in between. Shifts will be staggered, but rest assured, the roads will get cleared.
“It’s important for people to understand, we have a normal workday, Monday through Friday, so when it comes to any type of overtime hours, we have to plan these situations, accordingly, based on the number of hours.”
It’s not cost-savings planning either, rather, as stated above, a number of consecutive hours worked issue.
“The trustees want people to understand, we’ll do whatever we can to keep the roads safe, but especially during the winter, be patient with the township, or any other road crews, as we promise we’ll do the best we can to make the roads safe to drive.”
When the township itself has 95 miles of roadways per lane with two lanes generally to clear, some location is going to be mile No. 1 and some location is going to be mile No. 95 that gets cleared. But rest assured, as each will get cleared.
