More snow. I love it but I realize that not everyone does. Like it or not, we live in Canada and it’s something we must deal with every winter. Many of you say that if it could snow everywhere but in driveways and on the roads, you would tolerate it. That’s a novel concept, but we’re not there yet.
Winter driving can be frightful. I moved to Atlantic Canada 23 years ago and I have to say that winters are difficult here. Not necessarily because of the amount of snow, but the variety of weather or types of precipitation that often accompany a winter storm.
My job is to forecast the weather – not an easy one here, but I’ll take it over trying to clear the streets and roadways across the region.
Those of us who travel to and from work, are at the mercy of the hardworking road maintenance crews. If you're a homeowner, like me, anticipating when the plow will go by and push the wall of snow back in your driveway is, in itself, quite a challenge.
Some websites help us track the whereabouts of the plows and they are helpful but not fun. Imagine if those plows had names? They do in Scotland.
The Scottish Government operates a website that shows the live locations of its road salt-spreading snow plows; it may not sound particularly exciting, but each plow has been given a humorous name. The nicknaming convention began in 2006, when schoolchildren were asked to make suggestions.
"Spready Mercury", "Gritney Spears", "Gritty Gritty Bang Bang" and "Han Snow-lo" are just a few of the dozens of trucks that are in operation through the spring. Many of the trucks have their names displayed on the side, like Gritallica.
Meanwhile, back at home, if you’re looking for road information, here are a few links that can help you see what’s going on across the region.
- N.S. PROVINCIAL PLOWTRACKER: https://novascotia.ca/tran/winter/plowtracker.asp
- P.E.I. DEPARTMENT OF ROADS: https://511.gov.pe.ca/en/map_report.html
- N.L. PLOWTRACKER: https://gps5.aatracking.com/newfoundland/wintermaintenance.html
These websites are very informative and can help you plan before you go, but imagine how much more fun it would be if you knew that Gritty Gritty Bang Bang was just a few streets away.
Something to consider for next winter perhaps. I’m working on my list of names right now!
- Want more weather information? Visit your weather page.
- Have a weather question, photo or drawing to share with Cindy Day? Email [email protected]
Cindy Day is the chief meteorologist for SaltWire Network