WINTER WEATHER NEWS
February 15, 2024
Special Weather Statement
Snow covered lots and walkways
How much and when?
The latest forecast shows snow accumulating .5"-1" for a couple of hours this morning.
Our Plan
We were hoping the precipitation would fall as rain as the temperatures were above freezing at 32 degrees at 8 am. With the snow, it has dropped a degree or two causing the snow to cover walks and lots. They are calling for temperatures to rebound up to about 40 degrees later today. As of 10:30 we have called our salt and deicing crews in to start their routes.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY
From 7:00 pm January 22 to 4:00 pm January 23
HOW MUCH AND WHEN?
The latest forecast shows freezing rain or a mix of snow, sleet. and freezing rain starting about 1:00am Tuesday and continuing (and changing to all freezing rain overnight) until late morning on Tuesday. They are calling for approximately .3"-.4" of precipitation. If this comes as freezing rain, the roads will be a disaster Tuesday morning for the rush hour and beyond. Temps finally raise above freezing tomorrow between 11:00am and 12:00pm. Please use an abundance of caution if you venture out into the weather.
OUR PLAN
Our tentative plan is to have our crews on site at 3:00am to salt and de-ice walks and lots. It is important to remember that salt and deicer work great for melting snow and ice but cannot keep up with steady freezing rain. As experienced in past events, salt applied during heavy freezing rain merely washes down the drains and has little effect. Plan for a very hazardous commute tomorrow morning. We will do our best to keep up with the ice build up. Please realize that based on the intensity of the rainfall, there will likely be times when the walks and lots are extremely hazardous. We fully expect traffic and road conditions to be an issue tomorrow morning. This will affect the ability of our crews to get from one site to the next and will probably lead to delays. Rest assured we will strive to make sure all sites are as safe as possible based on the weather conditions.
January 14, 2024
Just a quick note on this last event and plan going into the week:
The snow really piled up quickly on Friday afternoon and it was really heavy stuff! We had our fair share of breakdowns during the event trying to push the heavy snow. Our mechanics have a busy week ahead of them!
We were able to get all sites cleared before the temps really dropped and most sites cleared twice. By Saturday morning, we had all sites cleared and salted for the second time and crews were able to get home for some much needed rest.
Saturday and early Sunday morning winds and lake-effect squalls really blew the snow around and we had light accumulations and heavy to moderate drifting on the sites. We went through the sites and cleared all walks of drifts and accumulations and applied ice melt. Lots varied from needing hardly any attention to full plows with heavy drifting. A majority only needed partial plows. All lots will be treated as well. I expect there still to be areas on the lots and walks that may not be down to bare asphalt or concrete based on the frigid temperatures. Salt only works to about 20 degrees on the lots. There will be plenty of product there, it may just not have melted all of the snow and ice.
We will be revisiting condominium and apartment complexes tomorrow (Monday) to clear parking areas once the morning traffic dies down.
Most city walks are drifted shut and will require our heavier machines to clear. We will be working on those Sunday during the day and possibly overnight into Monday. We had break downs on a couple of our large sidewalk machines that we really need to clear these drifts. Our stand-on machines and ATV's just don't have the muscle to get through them.
Feel free to reach out by phone or text if there is anything that needs attention on your sites.
January 12, 2024 Snow Event
Winter Weather Advisory
From 1:00PM Friday Through 7:00pm Saturday
HOW MUCH AND WHEN?
Looking at all recent forecast data, it appears the heavy snow will begin around 4pm this afternoon. It will snow intensely at rates of 1" -2" per hour for several hours before tapering off to more moderate snow rates. There is even a chance for rain to sneak in over night for a short period as temperatures may reach the mid 30's. We are really hoping we do get just a bit of rain to cap the snow with a thin layer of ice that will help prevent drifting. Winds will be a major factor with this system. Gusts over 50 mph are expected. Lake-effect snow will start up over night into tomorrow and possibly beyond. These squalls have the potential to drop a quick inch or two of snow.
OUR PLAN
Our tentative plan is to have all personnel on site at 4pm to begin clearing walks and lots as needed. At rates of 1"-2" per hour, the lots and walks will be snow covered and slippery. Use caution. We are hoping to have all walks and lots cleared this afternoon and evening. We will then have crews out in the morning to handle any snow/ice from the event and lake-effect squalls. We will then keep an eye on sites for the remainder of the weekend and into the early week for possible services.
January 9, 2024 Snow Event
After a quiet December it appears the weather pattern is changing into a very active pattern for January.
HOW MUCH & WHEN?
Our weather reports show heavy snow starting at 3:00am to 4:00 am for us and continuing into the morning before changing to rain later in the day. A quick burst of 3"-4" of snow are predicted before the change over to all rain. The morning rush hour is likely to be very chaotic with heavy snow and poor timing for us to clear lots prior to people arriving to our sites.
OUR PLAN
Our tentative plan is to have all personnel on site at right around 1" of accumulation based on current reports. This could change as the weather forecasts change as we get closer to the event. If forecasts stay as-is, we will be clearing lots and walks in the morning. Temperatures are expected to rise throughout the day and not dip below freezing at night which is good for refreeze. We will be concentrating our efforts on clearing the snow after the initial burst of accumulations. If we see that accumulations are reduced, we may opt to salt any accumulations off since temperatures are in our favor.
12/19/2023
Season’s Greetings!
From all of us at A & H Lawn Service, we wish you a safe and happy Holiday Season. We have been busy finishing up our fall lawn maintenance and landscape projects, as well as preparing for our 32nd winter season here at A & H Lawn Service. Each year we spend countless hours preparing equipment, procuring salt and deicers, as well as preparing employees for another successful winter season.
We are currently enjoying a lull in the winter weather but know things can change very quickly and we will be seeing snow, ice, and whatever else Mother Nature can throw at us throughout the winter months.
Our arsenal this year includes 13 sidewalk machines, 23 plows, 36 sidewalk personnel, and 8 salt trucks to service our clients' sites. We also have 3000 tons of road salt and 9022 bags of deicer to keep the ice and snow burned off of your lots and walks.
Our winter season activities typically start in July and August, when we are buying our salt and ice melt for the upcoming season. Preparation of our winter sidewalk machines, plows, salters, and trucks typically starts in August or very early September. Each year we have a snow orientation and training with our employees to make sure they have all of the necessary information, knowledge, and tools to efficiently and safely remove ice and snow from your property.
REMINDERS:
*In the event that a client needs to reach us during a snow event, please call the numbers listed below. Do not call other employees numbers that you may call during the growing season. We are available 24/7. An email during an event, call to the office, or one of our other employees could go unnoticed for several hours. We want to be able to respond to our clients' needs just as soon as possible, so please call the numbers provided.
*If there are any changes to service, please let us know so that we can make note of the changes on our end. *Typically, to prepare for an upcoming event, we will send out emails (very similar to this one) with our tentative plans for the event. We do our best to come up with a game plan prior to the event so that our clients know what our plan is. Weather doesn’t always cooperate, but we have had a lot of positive feedback on our ‘Event’ emails we send out.
*Don’t forget about our LMN Portal that clients can log into and see when staff was on site and what materials were used. In most cases, it is updated real time and has been a valuable tool for property managers to see what has been done at their properties throughout the season. If you would like to add anybody to our 'Event' emails, or need access to the portal, please let us know.
12/6/23: We've had our first taste of winter and we're ready for whatever mother nature throws at us!