It may seem like it hasn’t stopped snowing since Christmas Eve, and that may be pretty close to the truth.
From Dec. 24 to Dec. 28, Barrie had seen 43.4 millimetres of snow. The heavy snowfall we had overnight Tuesday will have only added to that total.
Jeff White, who owns the property maintenance company Jeff White Group, says that while he always expects the unexpected, this recent snowfall truly wasn't in the cards.
“Yeah, they (weather experts) didn't call for this. We knew we were getting a significant amount of snow, but this was above what was forecast,” White told BarrieToday. “No worries, we’re always ready.”
White’s company oversees approximately 70 commercial properties in Barrie and has around two dozens employees on hand to get parking lots plowed and sidewalks cleared during the winter months.
“We have about 15 pieces of machinery that can head out at any given time, so we have all the right tools for the winters that hit us in this region,” he said.
White says he follows not just the local weather forecasts, but also a paid weather service that not only pinpoints where in a municipality the heavier snow will fall, but keeps track of road temperatures for sanding and salting.
“It's crazy how sometimes there will be a really heavy snowfall in one area and not 15 minutes away it's not so bad,” he said. “We have to prioritize our machines to be in the right area at the right time.”
White explained what certain weather alerts mean when they pop up on people's phone.
“Snow squalls are essentially lake-effect snow coming in, often in our case, from Georgian Bay and southeast into Barrie,” said White. “That is the fastest way we accumulate such a heavy snowfall.”
City of Barrie director of operations Dave Friary told BarrieToday that since the snow really started falling on Dec. 24, it has been all hands on deck.
“All winter maintenance crews have been in since Christmas Eve. Changing conditions with freeze/thaw cycles and squalls added into the mix have been challenging, but we have had our plows, combos, sander/salters and sidewalk machines out and working,” Friary said.
Friary reminds residents to use the plow tracker app in order to immediately address questions about if your street has been plowed recently.
“During a sustained snowfall, the app can confirm the last time a plow went by, based on the colour coding on the map,” he said.
With two days still left in December, White suggests people get ready for more of the same, as he and his team will be.
“It's not even January yet,” White said. “We could be in for a lot of snow, but in this region we’re used to it.”
