The recent snowstorm that hit the Maritimes may have been historic today, but may not be so historic as we go into the future. The stalling jet stream blocked a high pressure zone from moving eastward. The result? Heavy rain flooded the California area and a low pressure system stalled after coming up the Atlantic coastline.
Without gloating, my contractor basically sorted things fairly quickly and without any real prompting.
Mitigation
The first challenge is obviously the amount of snow that piles up. For front entry points, consider attaching a strong awning that pushes the snow out far enough to not block the doors.
The second mitigation measure to consider involves the amount of snow load that your roof can handle. Ideally, this is a job for an engineer to look at so that’s the preferred course of action. If you need a bit of an estimate, then I have found one tool that may be useful.
This is when you may want to register under the vulnerable persons list if you fit those criteria. The site for Halifax can be found here. There are others throughout the province and if you search for keywords “vulnerable persons voluntary registry Nova Scotia” you’re likely to find a good list.
Preparation
Preparation is a bit more challenging for this kind of event. If we look at some of the challenges so far, people might want to consider the following:
- Open storm doors and secure them, Most main doors open inwards and cannot be blocked. Storm doors, however, open outwards and can be.
- Bring a small shovel into the house and leave it by the door. With the storm door out of the way and the main door open, you can start to carve a path out. If things are right out of control, have a bucket and dump it in the bath until it melts.
- Mark your driveway ends, keeping not less than 1 foot away from drop offs for ditching and the like. Once the snow has fallen, this will help anybody plowing the drive or blowing it clear avoid the edges.
- If this becomes the norm, consider owning a snow rake or something similar that can be used to at least pull some of the snow down off the roof safely. If you know the load the roof can likely take (see tool above), then try to keep the amount of snow below 50% of when it starts to give you warnings (the 50% is an arbitrary number). Ultimately, this takes understanding how much snow your roof can actually handle (both the light fluffy kind and the heavier wet).
Response
Let’s face it. Those that went out a few times to try to keep things open fared a bit better than those that just let it pile up. There’s going to be a lot of different factors that come into play here–including physical fitness and personal safety factors. If able and safe to do so, do what you can as you go along to prevent massive work at the end.
The reason for putting a snow rake in the preparation side of things is because, frankly, I’m not a fan of working on roofs in snow storms. A rake allows you to pull the snow down while staying back from where it’s likely to land. Just remember not to pull a Wile E Coyote move and pull the snow down on top of you.
Let’s face it, we also want to be able to find cars. Being myself, I stick mine in the garage and avoid the issue of having to dig out around it. Digging out a car should be done slowly, scraping snow away a bit at a time until you can get to the point where you can brush it off. Also, be careful of your tailpipe and make sure that it is clear of snow. Otherwise you could have an exhaust issue.
Water is something we cannot really do without. That being said, snow is basically just water. If you have a wood stove and a cooking pot (ideally something pretty big like a stock pot), then having drinkable water is not far off. Simply fill up the stock pot and stick it on the wood stove. Get it to melt and then let it achieve a rolling boil for just over a minute. Then let it cool and it should be safe to drink.
Recovery
All things being equal, this is where the work really gets challenging. You may be able to get your walkway clear or at least get out, but then there are the roads to contend with. Your first point, however, is to at least get your part cleared off.
The second bit deals with the structural stuff. This is where either you work through the list of things yourself or have somebody in to help out (as long as they’re booked in the preparation phase). In my case,
Remember, snow melts and becomes water and water always finds a bit of a way into things. Once you’re back on an even keel, try to push the snow back from the foundation. Pay particular attention to any vents or pass-through points (such as for wiring) and make sure that snow is below those levels. Ideally, you would want about a shovel’s width or more back from the house.
Wrap Up
Much as I hate to say it, I don’t see many places saying things are going to get progressively better. We might just need to expect more storms like this and make some adjustments in how we do things. That being said, this is something much more manageable at a community level (not meaning let the community handle it but that it’s easier when the community comes together) than individually.
If you have time, check to see where your municipality (or equivalent) says you should contact to either get assistance or to help out.