Snow emergency

A snow emergency is the term used to indicate the active response plan when a snow storm severely impacts a city, county or town in the United States or Canada. Schools, universities, government offices, airports and public buildings may close during a snow emergency to prevent injuries during attempted travel; parking restrictions also usually go into effect to allow snowplows to clear the roads and streets effectively. The precise meaning of "snow emergency" varies depending on the issuing municipality. Snow emergencies are a common occurrence during the winter snowfall season in the Northern United States. The general public is alerted to snow emergency status via local broadcast stations, reverse 911 calls, mass text messaging services, public address systems, or lighted signals.

Typically, a snow emergency is declared by the mayor or other chief executive official of a jurisdiction. The declaration is usually issued after the winter storm has impacted a city or county. Winter Storm Warnings, Lake Effect Snow Warnings, Blizzard Warnings, and Winter Weather Advisories issued by the National Weather Service are taken into account when declaring a snow emergency.

During life-threatening winter storms, a state of emergency may be declared for an entire state. This allows additional measures to be taken by the executive, such as banning driving, enforcing a curfew, and deploying personnel, equipment, shelters, or financial resources that would be otherwise unavailable.

Many cities in the Upper Midwest define a snow emergency as a predefined-duration period of specific parking rules to allow snowplows to move about the entire breadth of every city street.

Cities such as Minneapolis follow a 3 day snow emergency plan, where main routes are plowed on day one. After the main routes are plowed, the even numbered side of the street is plowed on day two, then the odd side of the street is plowed.

Cities such as Saint Paul, Minnesota use the day-night plow protocol. Streets that are declared "night plow" routes are plowed as soon after the snow emergency is declared. Then on the second day, daytime plow routes are plowed.

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