Pittsburgh better prepared for massive snow storms than during 2010 Snowmageddon

Western Pennsylvania was a disaster zone 10 years ago.

An epic storm dubbed “Snowmageddon” dumped more than a foot of heavy wet snow across the region overnight, and it kept coming.

Before it was over on Feb. 6, 2010, Snowmageddon had become the second largest snowstorm in Pittsburgh history with 21.9 inches on the ground.

Snow blocked streets, knocked down power lines and buried vehicles, stranding residents in their homes. Thousands across Western Pennsylvania had no power for days. More than 10,000 homes lost power at some point, and warming centers opened across the region.

Pittsburgh International Airport canceled flights, and Port Authority of Allegheny County suspended bus service. Schools, government offices and some businesses were closed for more than a week.

A Hazelwood man died while waiting nearly 30 hours for an ambulance.

Former Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl declared a state of emergency and Pittsburgh officials spent an estimated $3.64 million cleaning up the mess.

It’s a much different Pittsburgh 10 years later. The region is on track for its third least-snowy winter with only 12.7 inches since Oct. 1. The normal amount for this time of year is 23.3 inches.

Pittsburgh also is in a better position to deal with a storm the magnitude of Snowmageddon, according to Dan Gilman, Mayor Bill Peduto’s chief of staff.

He said the city now has plans to expedite the hiring of contractors during a snow emergency. Gilman said the city has:

• Improved snow plow routing and salt usage

• Installed a GPS system to guide drivers and track snowplow operations online

• Created a better system to ensure equipment is prepared in advance of a storm

• Started new call-out procedures for employee overtime

• Outfitted more vehicles with plows and has more drivers among various department licensed and trained for plowing snow.

“I’m not going to say that it can’t happen again, but I will say that we are much better prepared than we were 10 years ago to deal with a storm the size of Snowmageddon,” he said.

Pittsburgh City Councilman Bruce Kraus remembered walking to work at the City-County Building, Downtown, from his home in South Side Flats because it was impossible to navigate streets in a vehicle. He said telephones at the City-County Building rang nonstop with calls from residents seeking help. The city’s 311 call line took more than 1,300 calls during the emergency.

“It’s called Snowmageddon for a reason,” Kraus said. “I just remember it being like a telethon. Everything that could ring was ringing. Calls just kept coming in. God willing, it won’t ever happen again.”

He credited former city Operations Director Duane Ashley with leading the city’s response during the first critical days. Ravenstahl was in Seven Springs celebrating his 30th birthday and couldn’t return until Feb. 7, 2010.

“Duane Ashley really stepped in and stepped up and took a position of command and organized our response,” Kraus said. “It had become sort of hit and miss. It was completely reactionary. We were just running from crisis to crisis.”

A task force created by Pittsburgh City Council to investigate the catastrophe determined that the city was not prepared to deal with a storm of that magnitude, and a breakdown in communications between city departments compounded the problem.

Gilman recalled a plow driver stopping him in Point Breeze after the storm to say hello and ask for directions. The driver, who was assigned to a different city street maintenance division, was unfamiliar with Point Breeze and had only a paper map to guide him.

Gilman said the GPS system alone is a huge improvement over 10 years ago.

“Imagine that you’re trying to drive a plow through a snow emergency on narrow Pittsburgh streets at night by yourself in an area you don’t know with cars parked on both sides of the street and you’re looking at a paper map to figure out where to go,” he said.