City workers are bracing themselves for weather trouble of a different kind.
With the temperature expected to reach a high of +9 C this weekend, snowplowing will be the least of their worries. Instead, they will be out clearing the entrances into the storm sewer system to give the snow that will surely melt a place to go.
"We have manual crews that will go out and chip the ice away from the catch basins which are located in the gutter line along the curbs," city utility operations supervisor Blake McIntosh said Tuesday. "And then we have steamer equipment that can melt the ice and open those up for us as well."
Street crews will also be out removing any windrows that happen to be over the catch basins as a result of the snow plowing, McIntosh added.
Manually clearing a catch basin is usually a matter of punching a couple holes through the ice covering the grate but given there are thousands of them around the city, McIntosh said crews won't get to all of them.
"Just the key ones," McIntosh said. "Like Ospika this year, when we had that freak flood or melting event in December, that was a bit troublesome for us, so we'll try to keep those ones open - there are a few in town that historically have caused us issues if they're not open."
Drivers are urged to slow down if they come across water on the road.
"We don't know if there is a pothole beneath the puddle," McIntosh said. "I'd hate to have someone stall and do some damage to their vehicle."
A worker will be on standby over the weekend to respond to calls for problem areas and if he needs support he can call other staff to help. Residents can call 561-7600 to report high-water spots.
The balmy weather will mark a big swing from the decidedly sub-zero temperatures the city has been experiencing for the past few weeks. Environment Canada meteorologist Doug Lundquist attributed the switch to a change in flow pattern.
"We had Arctic air which kind of prolonged winter and now we're going into more of a sub-tropical feed from off Hawaii," Lundquist said.
The normal high for this time of year is about +4C, meaning the temperature will be rising from significantly below that mark to somewhat higher but still below the records, which have been in the +12-13 C range.
