Digging Out From Record Snowfall
Prince George, B.C.- The snow just keeps on coming.
Prince George has already received about 26 centimetres of snow since this storm first pushed its way into the area, and there will likely be another 10-15 centimetres on the ground before this system moves out of the region.
The snowfall yesterday was a record breaker, the old mark for snowfall on December 11thwas all of 7 centimetres and the City was digging out from much more than that yesterday.
In fact, the average snowfall for all of December is about 48 centimetres, and so far this month, Prince George has received 43 centimetres, and there is still more than half a month to go!
The storm is one of several that will come through the region over the next seven days.
“Yesterday, a lot of that snow was from the warm frontal loft” says Environment Canada Meteorologist Doug Lundquist. “The cold front is now going through , the thing about cold fronts of that type that come from the Pacific is that actually they often warm us up down at the surface because they stir out the rest of the cold Arctic air, so you aren’t really going to get much colder today, but the precipitation you are getting is on the cold front. I would say another 20 centimetres or so in the next 24 hours on that cold front.”
Lundquist says there’s another storm for Friday, and possibly another early next week “So you’re not out of the woods” says Lundquist “The very heaviest snow we get in Prince George is often with the warm air and not necessarily with the cold front, so hopefully the next couple of systems give you a little more of a break.”
The City of Prince George has everything it owns, or can hire, working on trying to clean up the roads, the story is much the same in Mackenzie. District of Mackenzie Chief Administrative Officer, Mark Fercho says that area is digging out from under 21 inches ( yes, inches) of snow that have fallen on that community in the past 24 hours. “We are throwing everything we’ve got at cleaning up, but we are seeing some challenges” says Fercho.
Flights in and out of Prince George are also seeing some delays, but so far, there have been no cancellations. "We have called in extra staff to help clean up the snow" says Airport Spokesperson Lindsay Cotter . "We have already received 30 centimetres in the past 36 hours and it is still falling." Cotter says staff have done an awesome job in keeping the runway and taxiways clear for takeoff and landings. She says anyone heading to the airport should first check with their airline to ensure there are no delays and make sure they allow themselves enough time to get to the airport safely.
While schools remain open in Prince George , numerous school buses have failed to deliver students to classes, having become stuck in snow. ( see previous story)
If you need a tow truck, good luck. You can expect waits of 3 to 4 hours.
The best advice today is, if at all possible, stay off the roads.
Comments
Where do they measure the snow depth… It sure in the hell not on the HART…. Remember the Hart is in Prince George.
Please, just please keep the runways clear. I, like many others are headed for sunnier destinations. No flight cancellations is great news, keep up the good work airport staff!
ok …. to all the skiers, boarders and sledders … that is enough … no more dancing around the hot tub to the Norse god Skadi …. that is enough snow for now, save some for next week
“The City of Prince George has everything it owns, or can hire, working on trying to clean up the roads”
That’s not true. They should be out all hours, not just day time. Last night there was minimal work being done.
Really, you can drive by the city yard on 18th and see all their machines sitting there.
Posted by: Donald Mackenzie on December 12 2013 10:37 AM
Where do they measure the snow depth… It sure in the hell not on the HART…. Remember the Hart is in Prince George.
I’m on the hart too. Every cm they call for we get a inch. Redneck math.
I agree faithnomore. Unfortunately, I was out on the roads for a couple hours stocking up on groceries and such and at no point last night did I see or hear a plow. And this was on ospika, 15th, 5th and down by the mall.
You people are crazy if you think City crews are idle during record snow events.
Well where are they then and why aren’t the school zones plowed since the teachers are an essential service , this city is a disaster, thanks mrs Green
buzzing: Its not just mrs Green, its been this way for how many years now? Its the top mis-management. The workers can only do what the heads tell them to. Maybe all the city trucks and graders are out in the rural areas, who knows. I did see three graders on Milburn, heading up Upland and a loader there too. all the main streets haven’t been done though, Victoria, Massey, Westwood, probably all of downtown, although the snow has been coming down so fast, that an hour later, its hard to tell what has been done.
I did see a private loader though, driving between jobs and he put his blade down for a few blocks. Hope he doesn’t get heck for that. It is appreciated.
No the Hart isn’t in PG!
More snow? The Hart is higher up than the city which means they are closer to the sun. Never mind. The Hart is closer to the North Pole. Pick one.
city bus routes not plowed, my daughter missed her shift at work, no way to get there, the bus route she takes is also a school bus route, handi-cap bus stuck for over an hour, nice people stopped to help but still took them an hour, and dont get me started on the idiot who owns the trailer park i live in, clearly the the large amount of money we pay him is not enough to get him to clear the park, so we can get to and from work to pay his generous monthly fee, ugh so not liking this city right now lol
What is it with car lots around here,,is there any that dispose of their snow Legally?? not on the streets, or others front yards.. what a way to drag your business through the mud.Crooked is, what crooked does!! The city should charge them,( there is a bylaw against that), and get extra money there.
Thank heaven we bought a bigger snowblower this fall!! And yup, we live in the hart too; up an unplowed hill. need I say more! Bah humbug!!
Kudos to a thoughtful YRB driver. My truck slid off the road just enough so I couldn’t get it out. While I was gone to get help, a plow truck came along and he made several pushes behind my truck so that I was able to back it free – he didn’t have to do that.
Also, re: night shift snow clearing. From experience, I know that anyone managing crews performing restoration or cleanup work during a storm has to pace them properly. If you call out everyone at once during the first 16 hours, you may have no one to take over when they go home to sleep.
Tarnfeather explains. but not all will agree.
I left home this morning at 8:30. I had to attend to some business at Service BC(5th and Queensway) couldn’t park if I wanted to due to no snow removal, and get this I am currently driving my 4×4.
Onto George heading towards 4th and had one hell of a time getting across 4th. They plowed 4th into the center lane giving 2 lanes of traffic. Problem is I can only see one lane due to the at least 8 foot high pile in the center lane. Finally I get across and WTF the business owners are all out shoveling the sidewalk( that used to be covered) into the parking spots. Where the hell else they gonna put it.
I rammed my way in and went about my business, talked to a few shovelers and they were pissed to say the least.
I made my way after that around the city and I noticed some things, some unusual things.
– I didn’t see a city plow, sander, dump truck, grader, sidewalk plow or anything at all in the core or in CH.
– Aside from 4th I didn’t see any evidence of any sort of snow removal anywhere. Wait a second, Isn’t our mayors business on 4th?
– My home in CH is on a bus route, the bus barely made it by this morning and hasn’t come back since however the garbage truck made it’s rounds with chains on.
– I did see many many people taking matters into their own hands, several men with snow blowers taking care of their street in CH.
– A property manager on 15th clearing a city owned sidewalk with a shovel and a snow blower.
There’s more but you all get the gist.
Now I don’t want you to blame the workers because I certainly don’t, I don’t blame their foreman either but I do place blame on the head of Superintendent of Operations, Bill Gaal.
I knew this was coming a few days ago as well as many of us did, so why no action Mr. Gaal?
I quote Mr. Gaal…
All available City equipment was out yesterday, last night, all available city and rented equipment was out on arterial roads and working the east-west arterials into the City bowl.
Today, every piece of equipment, will once again be out, and will continue until this snowfall has been cleaned up. Gaal says he doesnât expect the plows will get into the residential neighbourhoods until Friday âAnd as Monday is red zone garbage pick up, Friday snow clearing will be in the red zone.â
Gaal says he expects crews will be working both Saturday and Sunday âThe forecast is not looking good, with Environment Canada forecasting 7 days of this.
End quote.
Mr. Gaal why have I not witnessed one not one single piece of equipment in the last two days of my travels around this city. Why is it that the RCMP have been very much more conspicuous in handling this snowfall than the city workers under your command.
Could it be that perhaps you are misdirecting the city workers in a very misguided attempt to gain sympathy? It sure looks like it to me, either that or incompetence, I’ll leave that up to you Mr. Gaal.
It’s time to send Mr. Gaal right down the river along with most of the city council.
As Gall how many pieces of equipment the City has and what they are and he would not know from squat.
He has no idea …. he should know from past experience how many there are, how many drivers are available where they are working – since they should have GPS on board – and how long it takes to finish ONCE IT STOPS SNOWING AT A HIGH RATE.
They do not know squat and they really do not care. They care about their bottom line, not the bottom line of people in the city and their vehicles.
THAT is the problem in this City!!!
Gaal is definitely one person who needs to get an early retirement package. AND, do not move anyone else up. Bring someone into the City admin that knows what they are doing.
I have not been in the City for about a week. Did they ever clean up the snow piled in the middle of the streets or is that still there with the weather in PG?
Calgary got a major dump as well. I thought it would be appropriate to post three comments on the web page I linked below.
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“Well folks for 2 days in a row as I left the McDougall Centre parkade I am amazed. On day 1(yesterday) I see a crew with hand shovels and a loader and dump truck cleaning snow from the 8th street bike lane(the one that used to be a road for cars). I’m thinking how nice the bicycle people get better service than I do in my hood.(cars getting stuck in front of my house all week). Today, day 2 I leave the parkade and there I see it again. a loader and a dump truck making that bike lane sparkling clean. I am sorry but do we have some issues with getting our priorities straight??????”
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We have had “some issues” for a loooooong time. Too bad elections don’t work anymore.
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Actually WE don’t have a problem…City Council and it’s cycling czar does!
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http://www.calgarysun.com/2013/12/10/calgary-residents-of-northeast-communities-frosty-over-city-snow-clearing-efforts
Gaal needs to be fired first of all..
Second… he needs to quit in a dramatic fashion….
Third… why isn’t he fired yet??
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