Winter weather is an essential part of most grounds operations, and no matter where in the country you work, dealing with winter weather is challenging. Here at University of Kansas we have just recovered from a bona fide blizzard which dumped 14” on our campus. The storm started Saturday, January 4th and moved out the next day. Since then, we have had consistent temps below freezing except for 2 days at 33F. Admittedly most of our winter weather is not this significant but there are common impacts across any winter storms. I feel comfortable sharing the lessons I’ve learned/am learning in my 36 years as a team member/point person for storm management. Some are meant for professionals, but I think any administration types would benefit from reading them too. 

Each Storm is Unique
Storms come in all shapes and sizes, and each presents special challenges. Precipitation type, duration, weather/temps before and after storm, wind, etc. all affect the preparation and active interventions needed to return the landscape site to normal/safe operations. Our current storm came in as freezing rain creating .25” of ice and was forecast to have a duration of 24-36 hours. Our first activation was in response to campus police requesting treatment. Rock salt made roads passable temporarily but continued freezing precip on campus required we have overnight staffing. As the storm deepened snow started in earnest and our ability to keep essential roads and walks passable become more difficult. Blizzard condition winds created drifts and required repeated plowing even after snowfall ceased. Then cold temps settled in hampering efforts even more. This ebb and flow is true of every storm and will test a teams ability to respond with the proper actions and equipment.

Reasonable Expectations
A major problem of every winter weather operation is dealing with unreasonable expectations. Our community wants everything done immediately or so it seems. When I first started snow ops way back when in Fairfax, VA, I’d get called overnight and not see anyone on the roads. Now, no matter when I get called in, there is the same volume of traffic and employees trying to get to the office. Even when the campus is closed there are sledders, dog walkers, and rubberneckers galore. People are no longer patient with a temporary disruption to their routine. Despite the snow cover, people park in the same place, walk the same route, and use the same entrance while our team has provided safe alternatives for movement. Our work is a prioritized list of locations and interventions providing for increasing safety and convenience as the stormtime passes. We cannot do it all and no one should expect us to. 

Plan Your Work and Work Your Plan
Like any aspect of grounds management, winter weather operations requires a well-crafted plan. Aspects of the plan include monitoring the weather forecast, team composition and responsibilities, equipment and pre-treat prep, initial response/priorities, ongoing stage adjustment into final clean. Without clear plan guidance, response efforts are prone to chaos, weak effort, frustration and ultimately poor results. The plan considers the human and emotional considerations of commitment, satisfaction, potential frustration and most importantly, fatigue. Additional is the likelihood operations may need 24/7 work, and you have significant potential for confusion and plan breakdown. Working the plan creates an understandable chain of communication from Administration/Work Management to the field teams, thus avoiding conflicting orders. In order to be more effective, the plan must be conveyed to key stakeholders, especially the team itself. Setting expectations and performance standards ahead of time is a vitally important factor contributing to successful operations.

Constantly Improve Your Operation
Perhaps owing to the feeling snow ops are unending, preparation for and refinement of snow ops planning should also be unending. Today’s equipment for winter weather is really good. Plows are easy to mount, well-made and easy to operate. Controls can be held in the hand rather than statically mounted to the floor like the first plows I used. Spreaders come in various sizes and are durable, easy to fill, and allow for easy operation. Clean up is simple, vital when dealing with the corrosivity of ice melt products. Small engine and handheld tools abound and can be tailor selected by crew member preference, in conjunction to the specific nature of weather/precip conditions. It is essential that each winter weather event trigger an after action discussion to promote plan adaptations if needed, expose response weakness, and prompt training. The actual work of snow ops requires experience and repetition. Cross training and responsibility diversity helps build a bench which prevents performance lapse when it matters most. 

Thanks for a Thankless Job
Winter weather ops are often thankless. Or at least they feel that way to me. The intricacies and difficulties are rarely understood by those whose work doesn’t require active participation. Even those who do participate tangentially do not truly understand our plight. Because snow ops are a primary aspect of our work, our teams are assigned significant responsibility during these events. We do not flinch from this charge. Yet, our teams need fair reckoning when it comes to determining a successful response from something less. No one wants to provide a safer, rapid, and effective winter weather response than our Grounds Crews. Our organizations should expect our best but also provide us with their best. A unified understanding of winter weather ops requires commitment and understanding from all involved.

So, on behalf of grounds people everywhere, I say THANK YOU to the teams that wake up in the middle of the night, shovel when there hands are frozen, and slip/slide to get their jobs done. THANK YOU.