During the past few winters, Greater Lansing has experienced everything from the 2011 blizzard, where the university shut down thanks to more than 10 inches of snow, to exposed grass on last year’s Christmas morning.
After one of the warmest winters in the last decade hit directly after one with heavy amounts of snow and ice in 2010, National Weather Service meteorologist Brandon Hoving said weather patterns for the upcoming season are particularly tricky to predict — making it difficult for city officials to plan accordingly for the upcoming season’s snow and ice removal budget.
“It’s harder to gain a trend when the winters of the past have been all over the place,” Hoving said. “If there’s not a clear signal, that makes the forecast more difficult. … The official forecast looks (like) middle-of-the-road snowfall. We don’t have a strong signal that it will be snowier than normal.”
Students also will have to stay vigilant to avoid snow removal fines, which come at a minimum of $25 if ice isn’t removed in a 12-hour time frame or if snow that has accumulated before noon isn’t taken care of by midnight of that day; a second fine costs $75, and each additional fine costs $125. Midnight the next day is the deadline for removing snow that accumulated after noon.
Since the city doesn’t take care of privately owned sidewalks, interdisciplinary studies in social science senior Sam Eppert said he isn’t looking forward to the first substantial snowfall and he is glad he lives in an apartment where he won’t have to deal with snow removal firsthand.
“I’m from the U.P. and grew up with snow my entire life,” Eppert said. “I don’t like to drive in it; it’s cold — I like to wear sandals.”
When the recent weather statistics aren’t consistent, city officials have to be ready for anything when it comes to winter weather.
East Lansing Director of Public Works Todd Sneathen said as far as this year goes, the public works department already is preparing their equipment for unexpected snowfall.
The city has budgeted for a mild winter, and if more snow falls than expected and the city’s roughly $250,000 budget for this year’s season is exhausted, the public works department will have to cut back on city services in the spring, such as road repairs, to balance out. Last year, the city used around $200,000-230,000, Sneathen said.
“We try to use the previous year’s experience to come up with the amount we need to budget,” Sneathen said. “Most of the time we’re hoping to be conservative and not have to spend everything we budgeted.”
When there is a significant amount of snowfall, Sneathen said the city focuses on highly trafficked roads such as Grand River Avenue and Harrison Road first and then moves outward toward the less-traveled side streets with snowplows and salt. The city also shovels the sidewalks in front of city-owned buildings and parks.
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