Big Snow Arrives, Again.
Philly Streets Dept has 700 employees, 400 pieces of equipment out clearing city streets of snow today pic.twitter.com/cL1O3FPJtV
— Jeffrey Kolakowski (@jdkolakowski) February 13, 2014
The schools are shut down, but SEPTA’s in (mostly) good shape. John Bolaris, god love him, started live-chatting at 5 a.m. today. The city is in a snow emergency, the nor’easter has arrived, and it’s not quite an apocalypse—yet—but the city will definitely slow down a bit today: The forecast still calls for six to 10 inches—and it appears we have most of the six already.
NBC 10 says: Just stay home this morning.
Thinking of going somewhere in your car early Thursday morning? Unless you absolutely have to be there, don’t even try it.
“It’s going to be a mess,” said NBC10 First Alert meteorologist Bill Henley. “Getting around this morning should not be attempted.”
“There won’t be a morning rush,” NBC10 First Alert Chief Meteorologist Glenn “Hurricane” Schwartz said as he analyzed new forecasting models from the NBC10 First Alert Weather Center on Tuesday. “The driving conditions will be the worst Thursday morning.”
But will parents survive? NewsWorks isn’t so sure:
With yet another snowstorm set to barrel across the region and cancel school, parents are again scrambling to figure out how to balance their work lives with their kids’ snow days.
Kate Kramer, the mother of two at West Philly’s Penn Alexander elementary, sums up the general consensus pretty well. “It’s been a long January/February,” she said.
Like many parents, Kramer and her husband have been forced to miss a lot of work lately. Every time a snow day is called, she and her self-employed husband have to make some tough decisions.
“If he doesn’t work, he doesn’t make money,” she said.
The Inquirer says PECO is ready:
Some of those who felt the utility was less than prepared for last week’s storm may be glad to hear that the company has 4,200 workers standing by for response and restoration Thursday, 1,200 more than it did a week ago.
Still, this coastal nor’easter could be the most dramatic event yet in an already wild season. The National Weather Service posted a winter-storm warning for the entire region, saying six to 14 inches of snow would fall heavily early Thursday, then mix with sleet and rain, and change back to snow before ending Thursday night. The warning is in effect until 1 a.m. Friday.
By the way: You really should’ve moved your car.
Despite the warnings from Mayor Michael Nutter to get your cars off the snow emergency routes, they were still out there, and now they’ve been towed.
FOX 29 cameras found cars being taken off the streets of Philadelphia by tow trucks on Wednesday night.
In all seriousness, if your car does get towed from a snow emergency route, you can call 215-686-SNOW for its location.
Will the storm ruin Valentine’s Day?
Snowstorm or not, Cupid is on the clock this Friday for Valentine’s Day. Jonathan Morrissey, from Rich Mar Florist, said they’re staying ahead of it. “Some folks may have received items a little bit early. We’re just asking you kind of cooperate with us, we don’t have any control over the weather,” he said.
Sounds lke a possible movie. Or sitcom episode. Stick with us today; we’ll bring you updates on the weather situation.