March 20 marks the official start of spring, but here in Nova Scotia someone apparently forgot to tell Old Man Winter his time is up.
The province was hit by a double-punch of powder this past week, with Halifax in particular getting the worst of the impact. Sunday鈥檚 storm was easily one of the season鈥檚 largest in terms of accumulation, with many areas receiving more than 20 cm. But that paled in comparison to Wednesday鈥檚 storm, which according to some reports may have dropped upwards of 50-75 cm of snow on Halifax. Transit shut down, businesses stayed closed and the city鈥檚 residents spent hours upon hours shoveling themselves out.
Between the two winter storms, Halifax received more total snow than even during the infamous 鈥淲hite Juan鈥� snowstorm back in 2004.
Both storms closed universities in the province, and Wednesday鈥檚 storm even led to an extremely rare two-day closure for AV俱乐部鈥檚 Halifax campuses. (With Truro receiving less snow, the Agricultural Campus was able to open at noon on Thursday.) But while most students, faculty and staff stayed home, Dal鈥檚 grounds team was on campus, hard at work trying to clear away the snow.
A challenging winter
To get a sense of the scope of that work, we spoke with Tom Innes, general foreperson with the Halifax grounds team and a six-year Dal employee.
鈥淭his is the worst winter I鈥檝e experienced here at Dal,鈥� says Innes.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the volume that makes it difficult,鈥� he explains. 鈥淓very year, there鈥檚 always a big snow or two, but then there鈥檚 a thaw. This year there鈥檚 been no thaw, which means we鈥檙e running out of places to put the snow.鈥�
That means more snow having to be trucked away from campus. According to Innes, more than 300 truck beds of snow had been removed from the Halifax campuses this winter prior to Wednesday鈥檚 storm 鈥� a number that鈥檚 certain to be significantly larger once this current cleanup is done.
Dal鈥檚 snow removal effort in Halifax takes 11 staff with the Facilities Management grounds team and an additional 10 or so personnel from private contractor Ocean Contracting. For Wednesday鈥檚 storm, the team attempted to clear campus during the storm itself but ceased after about six hours, as high winds were filling in the snow faster than it could be cleared. Over the subsequent days the Dal team put in two steady 10-hour shifts clearing away snow, with overnight and additional support from Ocean.
A job well done
And yet, despite this being the wildest wintery week Halifax has seen in years, faculty/staff and students who returned to campus Friday morning found most campus roadways and sidewalks relatively clear and accessible.
It鈥檚 another impressive achievement for a grounds team that's been receiving rave reviews all season, in both social and traditional media, for its snow- and ice-clearing performance. During a winter in which many of the city鈥檚 sidewalks have remained ice-logged, Halifax pedestrians worried about their walk have been able to breathe sighs of relief when they reach a mostly-clear campus.
So what鈥檚 the secret to Dal鈥檚 success?
鈥淚t鈥檚 timing, in some ways,鈥� says Innes. 鈥淚t鈥檚 pretty hard to predict Nova Scotia weather: it can call for 10 cm and then you get 30. You always try and make sure you have your people ready to go, and on our team everyone鈥檚 willing to come in and do their part.
鈥淲e hold ourselves to a high standard, as we do with our contractor. Our team takes great pride in their work and in keeping campus safe and accessible for everyone.鈥�
In other words, it's hard work 鈥� but whether it's in Halifax or in Truro, the work is certainly appreciated by everyone in the Dal community