Even more snow is expected to hit us after Sunday night's snowfall. Anywhere from two to five inches has been predicted throughout our area.
Allen County Emergency Management Director Tom Berger says that a big thing to do when expecting snow is preparing your home for the weather - like checking your furnace to be sure that the filter is clean. Another thing to consider when the weather gets bad is to take a minute and check up on neighbors or family members.
"We always like to stress for folks to keep an eye on their neighbor, especially older neighbors, maybe a loved one that may not be able to to get out and be as mobile as they'd like to be, to make sure that you’re checking on them, give them a call, if you don’t hear anything, go knock on their door," said Berger.
Berger also recommends that you make sure that your car is ready for the weather - that means checking things like the windshield wipers or the battery before you head out.
And speaking of roads - if you live on a side road, it might feel like the crews never get to you, but there is a specific route that the crews follow to be sure that they can effectively help as many people as possible when the roads get bad.
City and county road crews follow the same kind of pattern with snow - starting on bigger roads and working their way down.
Crews with the street division for the City of Lima are responsible for approximately 160 lane miles, and with only about 10 trucks out on the road at a time, they can't be everywhere at once. That's why they get the main roads first; in case of an emergency, everything is clear for those working to do their jobs.
"We have to focus on the main roads; we need to make sure the police can get through, the ambulances can get through, emergency personnel, school routes, hospitals - we want to make sure that emergency personnel can get through to you if you have an emergency, but eventually we do get to everyone," said Warner Roach, Lima Public Works Street Division Deputy Director.
Crews with Allen County share their coverage of around 900 miles with municipalities and townships. Just like the city crews, Allen County trucks can't get to everything right away, and while they hate to leave you hanging for a little longer if you live on a side road, it's all about being sure that where most people are going is as safe as possible.
"We do have to look at traffic counts, and wear a majority of the traffic is and we try to clear them first, especially uptown," said Daren Leis, Allen County Road Superintendent. "Out in the countryside, it’s pretty much a set route so we can fluidly move throughout that without backtracking to get from one place to another."
