Local News

Local Counties Prepare For Approaching Winter Storm

/ CBS Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Local counties are preparing for another winter storm on Tuesday, February 9th. Here is what you will need to know.

PHILADELPHIA

With the National Weather Service predicting snow accumulation over a 24-hour period starting late this evening, city crews will be deployed in advance of the latest winter storm.

Because of the deployment, all regular trash collection for Tuesday, February 9, is canceled.  Those residents are asked to hold their trash until next week.

All city residents are required to clear a path of three feet in front of their property within six hours of a snow event ending, including curb cuts.  Residents should also be aware that shoveling snow into the street is against the law and counterproductive to City plowing efforts.

The Streets Department will dispatch a contingent of vehicles to salt and plow streets beginning around midnight.  "This may not be on the scale of last month's blizzard, but we are treating this as a full-scale event," said Clarena Tolson, Deputy Managing Director for Infrastructure and Transportation.  "We want to make sure we're out there ahead of the storm."

Tolson said the salting and plowing will continue throughout the day Tuesday as the snowfall continues.  This deployment will include residential plowing.

However, no snow emergency declaration is planned at this point, meaning that the city's snow emergency routes will operate under normal parking regulations.

PENNSYLVANIA

With a winter storm expected to start impacting the state overnight, the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency will enhance staffing to Level 3 at the State Emergency Operations Center starting today at 8 p.m.

"Bringing staff from multiple state agencies to PEMA will enable us to more quickly respond to any resource requests we get from our county emergency management partners," said PEMA Director Richard D. Flinn Jr. in a news release. "We will maintain enhanced staffing for the duration of this storm event."

At Level 3, PEMA personnel will monitor conditions throughout the night, along with staff from the PA State Police, PA Department of Transportation, and the PA Turnpike Commission. Operations will be further expanded to Level 2 tomorrow morning at 8 a.m. with additional personnel from the following agencies: Department of General Services, Office of Administration, Department of Health, Department of Military and Veterans Affairs, Department of Human Services, and the American Red Cross.

The commonwealth's ReadyPA campaign encourages citizens to take three basic steps before an emergency occurs: Be Informed, Be Prepared, Be Involved.

More detailed information, including free downloadable emergency home and car kit checklists and emergency plan templates, is available online at www.ReadyPA.org. The free ReadyPA app is also available for both Apple and Android devices.

CAMDEN COUNTY

Freeholder Carmen Rodriguez, liaison to the Camden County Department of Health and Human Services, advises municipalities that Camden County will be under a Code Blue Advisory tonight.

The Health Officer issued the Code Blue advisory for Camden County effective from 6 p.m. on Feb. 8 until 7 a.m. on Feb. 9.

"We are expecting a snowy and breezy night with temperatures well below freezing, so everyone should be sheltered and out of the elements during this severe weather," Rodriguez said in a new release.  "If you must leave the house, please dress yourself and your children in warm clothing, hats and gloves. Also, please remember to check on elderly relatives and neighbors, and bring your pets indoors."

Persons seeking shelter in a warming center should contact their local municipality.  Additional resources are available by calling the Camden County Department of Health and Human Services at (800) 999-9045, or by visiting www.camdencounty.com.

Evening flurries will develop into periodic snow showers overnight. Temperatures are expected to drop as low as 25 degrees with winds out of the northwest up to 18 miles per hour.

When the Camden County Health Officer declares a Severe Weather Emergency, municipalities with homeless populations, situational homeless or transient populations are expected to activate their Code Blue response plan to accommodate their immediate needs.

"During these weather emergencies, we encourage everyone to check on elderly or handicapped relatives and neighbors that live alone," Rodriguez said. "It is important that most vulnerable among us are not left without heat or electricity."

The Camden County Health Department and the Office of Emergency Management have worked with each municipality to ensure they have the proper resources to respond to these severe weather situations as part of their individual Code Blue plans.  Each municipality has identified its own location to accommodate those in their community seeking shelter from the severe weather.

The Office of Emergency Management is also monitoring conditions.

"As this weather pattern continues, please, if possible, stay indoors today to keep warm and stay out of the elements," said Freeholder Jonathan Young. "If you must go out, please take precautions to keep you and your family safe from the extreme temperatures."

Freeholder Young offers residents the following tips:

  • Dress in layers and cover your exposed skin to avoid frostbite.
  • It only takes 30 to 45 minutes for exposed skin to develop frostbite
  • Mittens keep children's hands warmer than gloves.
  • Avoid wearing cotton, it holds in moisture and loses its insulating properties.
  • Remember that even clear-looking sidewalks can be slippery.
  • Keep dog walks brief, don't leave animals outside and consider a dog coat.
  • Please check on your neighbors, especially those that are elderly, disabled or live alone.
  • Using your ceiling fan clockwise on low recirculates warm air through the room.
  • Never use a stove, oven or a gas grill to heat your home.
  • Use space heaters safely on a level, hard surface and keep anything flammable at least three feet away. Turn off space heaters before going to bed.
  • Wood -burning fireplaces should have a glass or metal screen large enough to catch sparks or rolling logs. Never leave children alone in the room when a fire is lit. Keep all flammable items at least three feet away from the fireplace. Always make sure fireplace embers are out before leaving the room or going to bed.
  • Keep your thermostat at the same temperature day and night. Your heating bill may be a little higher, but you could avoid the costly repair of pipes that freeze and burst.

In case of a power outage please report it directly to the appropriate utility provider list below:

 

 

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