#snow-removal

#snow-removal

From Wednesday into Thursday night, guidance converges on the Alberta Rockies as the only part of the region with a real storm signal, with Banff Sunshine favored for about 10-15 cm and Lake Louise closer to 5-10 cm through the first wave.

When I spoke with emergency management officials last year, they all mentioned the same frustrating scenario. People ignore storm warnings until the precipitation starts falling, then suddenly everyone rushes out at once. The roads become congested with anxious drivers, accidents spike, and stores run out of essentials just when people need them most. But here's what really gets meteorologists worked up about this pattern. Modern weather forecasting has become incredibly accurate, especially for major winter storms.

Electric snow blowers are corded and good for clearing light to moderate snow off patios, porches, walkways, and small-to-medium-size driveways. High-voltage batteries power cordless snow blowers, which are effective on light, moderate, and heavy snow on walkways and driveways. Gas snow blowers are more powerful and can run longer without needing a recharge, which makes them better suited for large properties.

After last weekend's snowstorm, streets in cities across the East Coast are crowded with dirty snow piles that squeeze pedestrians into single-file corridors and force them into gross half-frozen puddle swamps at intersections. But of the major metros, only Washington, D.C., closed its schools through Wednesday, finally reopening on Thursday with a delayed start time - all this despite receiving just six or so inches (plus, to be fair, a treacherous coating of ice on top).

"I pass through this area every day, and I see a lot of people drinking, doing drugs, just hanging around," Vlad, a Coney Island resident, explained.

Boston's collective creativity shines brightest when heavy snow blankets the city, leaving residents scrambling for space savers to mark their territory. And needless to say, space savers were out in full force following last weekend's blizzard, from a jubilant chef statue to traffic cones, folding chairs, and even a commode. It's a cutthroat business, after all: those who steal someone else's shoveled-out parking space may run the risk of angry notes, slashed tires, or physical blows.

Many of us are riding the high of the recent major snowstorm wondering when the next big powder day will swing through. Unfortunately for most of North America, it looks like the snowy weather won't be returning anytime soon, or at least not for the next week. Meteorologist Chris Tomer 's Mountain Weather Update paints a rather sad picture for snowfall totals in North America between January 29th and February 5th.

Right now, forecast models are split. Some keep the storm far enough out to sea to spare New York City from snowfall but others show snow reaching coastal New Jersey and Long Island late Saturday into Sunday. A shift of just 50 to 100 miles in either direction could change everything, from rain versus snow to whether the city sees accumulation at all.

Some residents are still struggling to get by as snow clearing efforts continue three weeks after Toronto's record-breaking snowfall. The lack of snow clearing on sidewalks forced Regal Heights neighbourhood resident Megan Rodd to walk on the road when taking her two young children to daycare. It's pretty dangerous because there's traffic coming from both ways, she said. I was super frustrated.

In late January, Toronto was hit with what many experts said was the heaviest single day of snowfall in the city's history. In some spots, nearly 23in fell, driven in part by a collision of weather systems. The city had already removed 264,000 tonnes of snow from 1,100 km (680 miles) of roads, sidewalks and bike lanes by mid-February.