TOLEDO, Ohio — When it comes to preparing for a potentially historic snowfall, it's "all hands on deck," said Jeremy Mikolajczyk, the Commissioner of Toledo's Streets, Bridges and Harbor.
The city of Toledo uses a five-level treatment system to determine how best to handle different snowy conditions. The higher the number, the more severe the weather and the more employees are needed. Mikolajczyk says the upcoming storm will almost certainly require a level five level of treatment - a rare event for the Glass City.
"A level five is a major snowstorm event. And that's usually when we have to activate our sister divisions to help us out with residential plowing," Mikolajczyk said.
It's not just the level of snowfall that will be an issue. The WTOL 11 Weather team is calling for rain early Wednesday, and Mikolajczyk says this takes away a major tool in their arsenal: salt.
"With the rain coming ahead of time, all that would do is wash that pre-treatment away," Mikolajczyk said.
Without being able to rely on pre-treatment, that means that roughly 40 city plow drivers and the additional contract workers will be working Wednesday night into Thursday morning putting in 12-hour shifts to combat the weather on Toledo's side streets and main roads.
"The rain is going to switch over to wet snow. That wet snow is going to be pretty much slush. At that point in time we're going to be out there, not treating, but plowing everything that we can," Mikolajczyk said.
Mikolajczyk said while their deadline is still a moving target and he's not certain when roads will be safe, he anticipates the work will take days.
"With all that work to be done, I wouldn't expect us to be in the clear until sometime around Sunday," Mikolajczyk said.
The commissioner asks people to stay home if they can, but if you absolutely must leave the house, he says to drive slow and give the snow plows plenty of space so they can do their job.