Potent storm to bring severe weather risk, including tornadoes, to the south-central US. Get the latest AccuWeather forecast. Chevron right

Ashburn, VA

43°F
Location Chevron down
Location News Videos
Use Current Location
Recent

Ashburn

Virginia

43°
No results found.
Try searching for a city, zip code or point of interest.
settings
Ashburn, VA Weather
Today WinterCast Local {stormName} Tracker Hourly Daily Radar MinuteCast Monthly Air Quality Health & Activities

Around the Globe

Hurricane Tracker

Severe Weather

Radar & Maps

News

News & Features

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

Video

Podcasts

Winter Center

News & Features AccuWeather Prime Astronomy Business Climate Health Recreation Sports Travel

News / Winter Weather

Snowplow driver shortage affecting several states ahead of winter

It takes a whole fleet to clear 49,000 lane-miles of roadway when winter weather strikes in one state, but applications for snowplow drivers are down to about 50% compared to normal.

By Adriana Navarro, AccuWeather staff writer

Updated Nov 8, 2021 12:57 PM EST

Copied
Live Coverage For all things weather, 24 hours a day.

AccuWeather has confirmed six states are short 100 or more drivers to clear interstates and highways. Find out if that means where you live.

The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) wasted no time in preparing to keep the roads clear during the approaching winter season -- the salt barns are stocked, the trucks are prepped and all the pre-checks are done. However, Ohio, along with at least five other states, is facing a critical setback: a shortage in snowplow drivers.

Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Oregon, Missouri, Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Rhode Island, and Wyoming -- all of which typically have snow coating the streets during the winter months -- are still recruiting snowplow drivers this season. In addition, six of these states -- Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Oregon, Missouri, and Colorado -- are each looking to hire more than 100 people for the job.

In Colorado, where winter operations are "the bread and butter" of the state's Department of Transportation (CDOT), the department is seeing a shortage of about 18% to 19% of its snowplow operators, John Lorme, director of Maintenance and Operations for the CDOT, told AccuWeather National Reporter Emmy Victor. Normally the department sees a shortage of around 10% when taking into account promotions, job turnover, etc.

The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) is seeing a shortage of snowplow drivers ahead of the 2021-2022 winter season. (Ohio Department of Transportation)

The CDOT currently has about 190 permanent positions available for entry-level maintenance with roughly 100 other temporary positions open, he added.

The ODOT also has more than 190 positions open. Traditionally, most of its seasonal employees come from rural areas of the state, ODOT Public Information Officer Matt Bruning told Victor. It is a bit more challenging to find seasonal employees in the cities due to people with commercial driver's licenses having more options, but this year proved to be a larger challenge overall.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FREE ACCUWEATHER APP

"In some parts of the state, our applications are down about 50% from where they would expect to be," Bruning said. "The good thing is, we have drivers. We have people who will get the roads clear in Ohio. How many seasonal [workers] we get will determine how quickly we get those roads cleared."

The ODOT is responsible for all of the state and U.S. routes outside of municipalities, as well as all of the interstates across Ohio -- that adds up to about 49,000 lane-miles of roadway, Bruning said. The department has a goal to get the primary roads clear within two hours of the end of a snow event and the secondary routes within four hours. While the department hits that goal 95% of the time, Bruning said, this year might prove to be a bit more challenging.

Road salt is loaded onto a truck to prepare to clear the roads. (Ohio Department of Transportation)

"If we don't have the adequate number of drivers that we need to get the job done quickly, that certainly could lag," Bruning said. "We could certainly take longer to get those roads back up to speed. We don't want that to happen, but certainly, if we don't have the folks to make sure we have enough people to fill all of the routes that are out there, time is going to be the thing that's going to really be a difference."

Both entities are enlisting the help of job fairs and social media, and the CDOT has even shifted hiring practices. While the department typically tries to hire someone with a commercial driver's license and at least two years of construction experience or heavy equipment operation, this year CDOT will be able to train and certify commercial motor vehicle operators after hiring people who might not have any prior experience.

And a shortage of plow drivers is not the only factor that could create challenges for motorists this winter.

A shortage in winter tires could also impact winter travel this season with Goodyear, in particular, expecting to be 5 million tires short this year, according to a report by NBC Montana. Some have blamed the looming shortage on both a rubber and worker shortage, not to mention backlog.

Tire salespeople at Kelleher Tire, a tire store in Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, are telling their customers to consider getting snow tires sooner rather than later this season since supply and demand may hurt last-minute customers, WBRE reported. The price of snow tires has hiked up by about 20% since the start of the year, meaning a $100 tire could cost $120.

"Do it now," said Scott Fabbri, a salesman at the Kelleher Tire. "Don't procrastinate, especially this season."

Reporting by Emmy Victor.

Correction: This story previously indicated that 11 states are seeing shortages of snowplow drivers. While 11 states are currently still recruiting snowplow drivers for the upcoming winter, only six are facing full-blown shortages at this point.

See also:

How a wind gust in Dallas caused a snowball effect of flight cancellations
Volcano fires molten 'lava bombs' as scientists watch in awe
Storm leaves city looking like middle of winter on 86-degree day

For the latest weather news check back on AccuWeather.com. Watch the AccuWeather Network on DIRECTV, Frontier, Spectrum, fuboTV, Philo, and Verizon Fios. AccuWeather Now is now available on your preferred streaming platform. 

Report a Typo
Comments that don't add to the conversation may be automatically or manually removed by Facebook or AccuWeather. Profanity, personal attacks, and spam will not be tolerated.
Comments
Hide Comments

Weather News

Winter Weather

Midwest to be blanketed by quick-hitting snow

Feb. 8, 2023
Weather News

For Syrians, earthquake aftermath is 'a crisis in a crisis'

Feb. 7, 2023
Severe Weather

Atmospheric rivers are changing the Arctic, too

Feb. 6, 2023
Show more Show less Chevron down

Topics

News & Features

AccuWeather Prime

Astronomy

Business

Climate

Health

Recreation

Sports

Travel

Top Stories

Weather News

Earthquake victims dealing with harsh cold in Turkey, Syria

9 minutes ago

Severe Weather

Tornadoes possible on Wednesday as severe storms aim for South

30 minutes ago

Weather Forecasts

Springlike warmth to steadily unfold across East

11 hours ago

Winter Weather

February brings peak snowfall to these regions

1 day ago

Astronomy

Jupiter now has 92 moons after new discovery

17 hours ago

More Stories

Featured Topic

Tips to cope with winter weather

Featured Stories

Climate

Dire study finds 40% of animals, 34% of plants face extinction

17 hours ago

Winter Weather

Arctic blast led to rare weather phenomenon over a Vermont lake

1 day ago

Astronomy

Discovery of exoplanet by JWST was a ‘lucky accident,’ researcher says

1 day ago

AccuWeather Winter Weather Snowplow driver shortage affecting several states ahead of winter
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs Podcast RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
Company
Proven Superior Accuracy About AccuWeather Digital Advertising Careers Press Contact Us
Products & Services
For Business For Partners For Advertising AccuWeather APIs Podcast RealFeel® and RealFeel Shade™
Apps & Downloads
iPhone App Android App See all Apps & Downloads
Subscription Services
AccuWeather Premium AccuWeather Professional
More
AccuWeather Ready Business Health Hurricane Leisure and Recreation Severe Weather Space and Astronomy Sports Travel Weather News Winter Center
© 2023 AccuWeather, Inc. "AccuWeather" and sun design are registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Terms of Use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | TAG Disclosure | Do Not Sell My Data checkmark Confirmed Not Selling Your Data

We have updated our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

I Understand

Get AccuWeather alerts as they happen with our browser notifications.

Notifications Enabled

Thanks! We’ll keep you informed.

FEEDBACK