Mark Ranson of Covington’s Public Works Department directs Daniel Chumley forward as the two Covington mechanics attach plows to the City’s truck fleet.
COVINGTON, Ky. - The Weather Channel officially named the approaching snowstorm this afternoon, saying over 2 million people across the middle of the country are now under a winter storm warning.
But if Covington’s Snow & Ice Team noticed, it was difficult to tell over at the Public Works Garage on Boron Drive.
It was business as usual as Public Works employees prepared for so-called “Gia” to hit early Saturday morning.
After all, some 1,800 tons of road salt have long since been ordered and piled under cover, the plows were attached to the trucks earlier today, and a preliminary plan for calling up almost three dozen drivers has been passed around: As of now, Team A comes in at 3 a.m. Saturday, Team B gets behind the wheels 12 hours later.
“We will finalize our plan of attack in the morning. We usually do that the day before we expect the storm,” said Fleet Manager Steve Hedger, who is filling the role of Covington’s “snow commander” during this two-week rotation.
While weather forecasts continuously change, Hedger said the current guess is 3 to 5 inches of snow in the early morning hours Saturday, with a half inch to an inch more following on Sunday.
It’s not the first call-up for the Snow & Ice Team. They’ve been out a handful of occasions already. But it’s projected to be the first big storm.
“Even so, just tell Covington residents that we’ll be ready,” Hedger said.
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| Mechanic Daniel Chumley hooks up a plow. |
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A Kenworth T350 dump truck awaits a load of road salt and falling snow.
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