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News / Winter Weather

How is NYC dealing with all these gargantuan snow piles?

By Lauren Fox, AccuWeather staff writer

Published Feb 9, 2021 5:03 PM EDT | Updated Feb 11, 2021 11:30 AM EDT

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Super Bowl Sunday brought wintry weather to the Big Apple and nearly all of New York state, creating wintry scenes all around.

Back-to-back snowstorms in the Northeast left many locations piled high with feet of snow. However, for densely populated places like New York City, extreme snowfall like what's been coming down lately can spell serious trouble for cleanup efforts.

The first storm that occurred last week dumped up to 19 inches of snow throughout parts of the city, and was quickly followed by a second storm over the weekend that added another 8-9 inches in some places. The official totals for each storm were 17.4 inches and 4.5 inches, respectively, measured in Central Park, the site of official weather records for the city.

While the city may have been left looking like a winter wonderland, New York's Department of Sanitation, which is solely responsible for snow removal and treatments in New York, was left with the important task of removing the accumulated snow so life can proceed in the city.

"Snowstorms in a place like New York City are very disruptive to people's lives," the city's Department of Sanitation Commissioner Edward Grayson told AccuWeather in an interview.

Guy Torres, right, makes snow angels with his relative Diego, left, during a snowstorm in Times Square, Monday, Feb. 1, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

The department's main goal with snow removal is to create passable roadways in the city needed for critical infrastructure, including for essential travel to places like hospitals and EMS stations, Grayson said. Depending on when the storm hits, he said it is also a priority to clear roadways needed for children to travel to school.

It is also essential that mass transit in the city is able to function, as city officials often release alerts asking people to use the public transportation systems instead of individual travel amid heavy snowstorms that require plowing.

"Our concerns are usually heavily monitoring the timing of the storm so we can have everything in place for a full plow deployment, which for us would be about 2,000 plowed vehicles," Grayson said. The department also started the season with 250,000 tons of salt on hand, and has additional contracts that would allow it to access another 500,000 tons if needed.

The department is responsible for clearing nearly 6,500 linear miles. Any snowfall that results in more than a 2-inch accumulation is considered plowable snow that needs to be cleared. Since Sunday, Jan. 31, crews have been working around the clock to clear the snow in New York.

"I have to give a lot of credit to my workforce," Grayson said. "We train for snow all year. It's part of our core identity as a uniformed agency that responds to events for New York City, and we've been doing it for 140 years."

The staff members for the sanitation department that work to clear the snow are also the same people who clear garbage and recycling, so Grayson explained that the back-to-back snowstorms have put the entire staff behind on other tasks as snow removal is prioritized.

A Times Square Alliance worker clears sidewalks of snow in Times Square, Monday, Feb. 1, 2021, in the Manhattan borough of New York. (AP Photo/John Minchillo)

The double snowstorm also posed a challenge space-wise for New York because after the first snowstorm they had no room left to put removed snow. Temperatures the following days also remained in the 20s, which meant any snow that was left in the city would remain in place and refreeze rather than melt away.

"If you already have a large deposit of snow on the right-hand side of the road in the wake of the plow, if you get another appreciable snowfall you're going to just keep narrowing the roadways," Grayson said.

Snow melters have been used in the city for more than 20 years to help clear up the mountains of snow that can accumulate from the snow removal process.

The snow is condensed into a one- to two-block radius in giant piles and melted down into sewage lines. The melted snow is then redirected to a water treatment center. The melters eliminate the concerns of flooding or the waiting game for the snow to melt on its own. It also cuts down on manual labor for the staff.

As of Monday, Grayson said, workers were treating roadways, piling and hauling snow from the first storm and melting the piles down. Grayson said the workers are also shifting back to trash and recycling removal because many residents are reaching a point where they can no longer store it all.

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The city also relies on residents to do their fair share in clearing up the snow. Property owners are required to clear their own sidewalks within a certain time frame after the snowfalls.

Property owners are allowed four hours after a snowfall if it occurred between 7:00 a.m and 4:59 p.m., 14 hours after a snowfall that took place between 5:00 p.m. and 8:59 p.m. and until 11 a.m. for any snowfall that occurs after 9 p.m. and before 7 a.m.

The first violation can result in a $150 fine, and the third violation of the snow removal regulations can leave someone with a hefty $350 fine.

A bulldozer helps to dispose of piles of snow following a winter storm in midtown Manhattan, New York, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

"One of the things that is unique to us is the density," Grayson said, pointing out that the city streets do not have shoulders where snow can be stored. "A lot of the challenges of our urban snow removal program is just the density and complexity of the city's streetscape."

An already challenging snow removal process has been even further complicated by the coronavirus pandemic, which Grayson said has caused a staffing shortage due to sickness and quarantining.

"The pandemic has certainly taken its toll with regard to manpower or headcount availability," he said.

Due to budget cuts within the department created because of the pandemic, they were not able to go through their typical hiring. This season, the staff was short by about 400 members and 20% had at some point been sick.

A man looks at a giant pile of snow as he walks in midtown Manhattan in New York, Tuesday, Feb. 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

This year, the snow budget for New York City was roughly $100 million. The city uses a five-year average for the snow budget, which has come in handy considering the snowfall has been substantially low in previous years. Grayson said New York City is on track to stay within budget this year, but with most of February and March still left in the season, it may be too early to say.

"I've been out with the workforce a lot this entire winter," Grayson said. "I think if the men and women of the department ever knew that there was gonna be a winter where they needed to be superhuman, it's this one."

The Department of Sanitation is now preparing for another round of wintry weather this weekend that is not expected to provide the same level of accumulation, but snow, sleet and freezing rain will all be possible on Saturday night and Sunday morning. After this past Sunday's snow, 32.5 inches of snow has already fallen this season, a full four inches above the city's average snowfall for an entire season.

"What we're doing right now is making sure our fleet is ready to rock for the next event," Grayson said. He said the cleanup would not be possible without the efforts from the team of staff members that are on the ground clearing the snow that comes from each storm.

"They really only get noticed when it's snowing, and they're out there 365 days a year doing some amazing things for New York City," he said.

Related:

The hidden dangers of icicles growing on your property
How to stop glasses from fogging up while wearing a mask in winter
10 years since this unforgettable scene unfolded during historic blizzard

Keep checking back on AccuWeather.com and stay tuned to the AccuWeather Network on DirecTV, Frontier and Verizon Fios.

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