What a 2 Inch Trigger Actually Means for Your Driveway

Plowed at 2 inches. Below that you can drive on it. Above that it starts to build.

What you need to know

• Once about 2 inches has fallen at your address, your driveway goes on the schedule and a truck is coming. You do not call.
• It does not mean we plow every 2 inches. On a storm that is still going we may let it stack to about 6 inches so the pass actually lasts.
• You get a text before we roll, every time.
• The borough plow comes after us and leaves a berm. On Pro Unlimited we come back for it on heavy storms.

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

The 2 inch trigger is the part of our service that trips people up the most, so I want to walk through exactly how it plays out on a real storm.

The trigger is a threshold, not a schedule

2 inches is the line where a driveway goes from fine to needs plowing. Below it you can drive over it and it packs down. Above it, it starts to build up, get rutted, and turn into the hard stuff nobody wants to deal with in March. So 2 inches is when your driveway earns a visit.

On a normal storm that drops 3 or 4 inches overnight and quits, this is simple. It hits 2, you are on the list, the truck comes through, you are clear by morning.

Why we sometimes wait for 6

The tricky ones are the long storms, the ones that snow for two or three days straight. If we plowed your driveway the second it hit 2 inches and it kept snowing, your driveway would be covered again an hour after we left, and we would be back at 4, and again at 6. That burns passes on a per push plan and it never actually leaves you with a clear driveway.

So on a storm that is still going we may let it stack up to about 6 inches before we run the route, so the pass we make lasts. When the storm finally quits, we come through and clean it up. You always know what is happening because you get a text before we roll.

A storm that does not quit. This is when we wait for 6.

What it looks like from your side

1. It snowsNothing for you to do. The trigger is measured at your address, not at the airport.
2. You get a textOne when you are scheduled, so you know it is coming.
3. You get another textWhen the operator is on the way, so you can move the car. On Pro plans you can watch the truck live.
4. You look out the windowIt is done. Most of our customers never talk to us all winter, and that is how it should be.

The berm

The borough plows the road after we plow your driveway, and it pushes a wall of hard packed snow across the end of it. That is not us being lazy, that is the order things happen in. On Pro Unlimited we come back for that berm on heavy storms. It is the single most common reason people switch to Pro after their first winter with us.

Done overnight. The lights were on but nobody had to come out.

Quick answers

What if it is only an inch and a half?

Then it is under the trigger and we do not come. If you want it done anyway, call the office and we will tell you what we can do. We would rather be straight about the line than pretend it moves.

Do I have to request each plow?

No. The trigger does it. On Pro Unlimited and Basic Per Push your driveway is dispatched automatically every time it qualifies.

How do you know it snowed 2 inches at my house?

We track accumulation by area and run routes by neighborhood. If your street got it, your route runs.

What time do you plow?

Mostly overnight, so you are clear by morning. On a long storm the timing shifts to when the pass will last.

2026 to 2027 season

Routes fill by neighborhood.
Lock yours in now.

Billing starts October 1. Once a neighborhood is at capacity it closes and late signups go on a waitlist.

Get my snow plowing quoteOr call or text (907) 215 7012