The Three Day Storm: Why We Sometimes Wait Before We Plow

Day two of three. This is the storm the trigger was written for.

What you need to know

• On a normal storm, about 2 inches trips the trigger and your driveway is done overnight.
• On a storm that is still going, we may let it stack to about 6 inches before we run, so the pass actually lasts.
• You get a text either way. You will never be guessing whether we are coming.
• When the storm finally quits, we come through and clean it up, and on Pro Unlimited the berm on heavy storms too.

Kaedyn Jennings Owner, Snip&Clip Alaska. Residential snow plowing in Palmer, Wasilla, the Butte and Anchorage.

Every winter has one or two storms that just do not stop. Here is exactly how we handle those, because it is the one time our service looks different from the other ninety percent of the season.

What a normal storm looks like

Snow starts in the evening, drops 3 or 4 inches, quits by 2 AM. The trigger trips at about 2 inches, the route runs overnight, you wake up clear. That is most storms and it is what the 2 inch trigger is built for.

What a long storm does to that plan

Now picture the same trigger on a storm that snows for 60 hours. It hits 2 inches at 9 PM. If we plow you at 11, you are covered again by midnight. We would be back at 2 inches again by 3 AM, and again mid morning, and again that afternoon. On a per push plan that is four or five charges for one storm. On any plan, at no point in those 60 hours do you actually have a clear driveway for more than an hour.

So on a storm that is still going, we may let it stack up to about 6 inches before we run the route. One pass that lasts beats four passes that do not. When the storm finally quits, we come through and clean it up properly.

A pass that lasts. On a long storm that is the goal.

What you get texted on a long storm

1. ScheduledYour driveway is on the route. On a long storm this text may come with the run timed for when the pass will last.
2. On the waySecond text when the truck is a few stops out, so you can move the car. Live GPS on Pro plans.
3. Cleanup passWhen the storm quits, the route runs again for the cleanup. Text again.
4. BermThe borough or the city plows the street after us and leaves a wall. On Pro Unlimited we come back for it on heavy storms.

What we ask of you on a long storm

Keep the car out of the driveway when you canThe on the way text gives you warning. A car in the middle turns a full pass into a half pass.

Do not drive it into a glazeIf you can park at the end for one night, do. Tires on 5 inches of fresh snow make ice a plow cannot fix.

Trust the textIf you have a scheduled text, we are coming. Calling the office at 3 AM does not make the truck faster.

Tell us about driftsIf the wind closes you back up after the cleanup pass, text the office and it goes back on the list.

Cleanup pass done. The lights were on, nobody had to come out.

Quick answers

So the trigger is not always 2 inches?

The trigger is always about 2 inches. On a storm that is still going we may time the run so the pass lasts, which can mean letting it reach about 6 inches first.

Will I get charged for every pass on Per Push?

You are charged per completed plow. That is exactly why we do not run four passes on one storm when one pass that lasts does the job.

What if I need out during the storm?

Text the office. If a truck is near you we will do what we can, and the scheduled text tells you when your run is coming.

Does this happen a lot?

No. Most storms are one night. One or two a winter go long, and this is how we handle them.

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