Snow Emergency Declared as of 6PM

[shu-al.livejournal.com]

Just got our call from Tom Champion...based on current weather projections, snow emergency effective at 6pm today.  Parking on odd side of street only. Cars not moved by 10pm subject to ticket and towing.

617-628-SNOW

Comments

[thebostonreader.livejournal.com]

They didn't declare an emergency 2 weeks ago when we had over a foot of snow followed by sleet and freezing rain, but they're declaring one today with 1 to 3 inches projected? I thought they only declared an emergency when four or more inches were predicted.

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

The City didn't declare last time because the snow prediction was far less than what actually fell. I imagine they're being proactive this time, particularly given that it's just before a high-traffic holiday. I think it's a good plan, personally.

[shu-al.livejournal.com]

I've heard both 1-3 and 4-7 predicted.

[bombardiette.livejournal.com]

It's just changed to 5 - 8 predicted withe sleet mixed in and is supposed to last all night through the morning.

Beaten to the Punch!

[tomchampion.livejournal.com]

Dang, shu_al got here ahead of me. I had to get out the media advisory, post the alert to the city's website, re-record the Snow Emergency Hotline message, notify 311 and issue the snow-alert email blast (legacy system that predates Connect CTY).

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that, by the time I got to the DSLJ, the info was already up.

For those of you speculating about snowfall, we are reasonably confident that we'll be getting more than 4 inches overnight, with the heaviest snowfall starting after 11 p.m. We could, of course, get twice that much -- and we could get less, or a wintry mix, or whatever.

It's worth noting again that Somerville gives far earlier advance notice on snow emergencies than most communities, which means that we go out on a limb every time we make a call without any snow in the air, let alone on the ground. Sometimes we look foolish, but at least we try to make sure that folks have plenty of warning, and that we can deploy equipment and personnel far enough ahead of the snow to keep the roads clear.

Nobody will be happier than I if this turns out to be a 2-inch fizzle so that we can lift early.

I'll keep the group apprised.

Re: Beaten to the Punch!

[shu-al.livejournal.com]

Consider my beating you to the punch as a gesture of goodwill and just doing my part as a member of the Somerville community.

Re: Beaten to the Punch!

[tomchampion.livejournal.com]

That's the spirit in which it was received. Thanks.

Re: Beaten to the Punch!

[tomchampion.livejournal.com]

P.S. One of the minor annoyances of putting out an email alert at this time of year is all those "out-of-office" auto replies from folks on vacation. I've gotten hundreds. Argh.

Completely OT now.

[lonelyholiday.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, I manage several email lists at work, and the "out of office" replies I love most are the ones that say "I will be out of the office until [date]," when that date has already passed. I always wonder if something terrible happened while they were gone or if they're just too dumb/lazy to remove the auto-reply. heh.

Re: Completely OT now.

[avjudge]

Vacation auto-replies generally have one or more of just a few phrases in them, and it's really easy to set up a filter that sends them straight to the trash. That's what I've always done.

Anne

Re: Beaten to the Punch!

[plumtreeblossom.livejournal.com]

Thanks Tom!

By the way, I somehow got dropped from the Emergency Hotline call list. Do you know how I could get back on it?

Thanks again!

Re: Beaten to the Punch!

[tomchampion.livejournal.com]

Sign up online here:
http://citizen.somervillema.intelligovsoftware.com/Default.aspx?serviceid=24539

or call 311 during regular business hours

Re: Beaten to the Punch!

[ron_newman]

Thanks for all your work, Tom. Maybe I'll see you on Prospect Hill Tuesday?

Re: Beaten to the Punch!

[tomchampion.livejournal.com]

To be sure. That's my neighborhood!

Re: Beaten to the Punch!

[ah42.livejournal.com]

If you want to migrate people away from the "legacy" email, perhaps including a link in the email for those wishing to unsubscribe would be good.

I like the email because it follows me around, no matter where I've moved.

Connect CTY/email

[avjudge]

I get the snow-alert email - just signed up for it recently, in the last month or 2, so seems odd that it's "legacy." (And I see it's still a prominent link on the city site.)

I checked out Connect CTY. I have to register just to get to the page where I can register (for the calls/email) - yuck. Anyway, the signup page for notifications requires a phone number. I don't want to be getting early-morning phone calls that for me (with a driveway) are often just an FYI. Is there a way to get only email notifications, not phone, through the Connect-CTY system?

Anne

Re: Connect CTY/email

[boblothrope.livejournal.com]

Give a fake phone number, like 617-555-0000.

[ron_newman]

Snow has already stopped, changing to light rain. Wonder how quickly the city will rescind the emergency.

[teko.livejournal.com]

Since cars ticketed for the emergency were clearly ticketed before any snow had fallen (and we only got an inch or so), I'm hoping the city will be lenient regarding contested tickets. I doubt most people were expecting a snow emergency to be called, considering the lack of precipitation.

[somer-villains.livejournal.com]

hmm... shades of two years ago, when cars got tagged and towed and nothing ever fell from the sky?

[teko.livejournal.com]

I wasn't living here two years ago, but seeing folks getting $100 tickets because there might be snow at some point in the future seems a little dodgy to me.