The following statement is from the City of Valparaiso Facebook page regarding the city’s plan for dealing with the expected snowfall in the city:
“Starting early Friday morning, we are anticipating a snow event lasting 24-36 hours followed by bitter cold and strong winds (up to 50 mph) that will affect daily business for Valparaiso and residents. Valparaiso City Services has a plan, based on weather forecasts and will continue to monitor weather patterns. Events like this demand significant labor and machinery. City Services will be rotating our labor force appropriately for safety and efficiency and utilizing ALL resources (Public Works and Utilities) to meet the needs of the City. The plan is as follows:
“During snow events that are over consecutive days (an expected wintery mix with several inches of snow Friday and another few inches on Saturday), the goal is to keep Valparaiso’s roads passable “during” the event, with a concentration on the main thoroughfares for emergency vehicles. Once these events have ended, final clean-up of all the streets will be performed, (most likely) Saturday on the main thoroughfares and Saturday night into Sunday for the secondary routes, which includes side streets, cul-de-sacs and neighborhoods. Changes in weather patterns may result in adjustments in this plan.
“As part of the process, the City uses experienced snow leaders to monitor roads. Based on these assessments, fleets will be deployed strategically. You can expect to see fleets out early Friday morning and a second deployment of additional snow fleet will arrive Friday afternoon as they will continue to work throughout the day on keeping main thoroughfares open (and secondary streets IF possible).
“Depending on the snow, City crews may not be able to address secondary streets until late Saturday. The rotation of snow fleet will start again on Saturday morning and the second deployment on Saturday afternoon. Please be advised that the travel conditions are expected to be very hazardous due to the rain, snow, high winds and the below freezing temperatures.
“For more detailed information and continued updates on the weather event, visit
https://www.weather.gov/media/lot/DssPacket.pdf
For information on Valparaiso’s major thoroughfares, critical areas and secondary streets, visit: https://www.ci.valparaiso.in.us/…/WINTER-EVENT-MAJOR…”