8 hours of snow at 2.5 cm an hour, 20 cm in all, a 15 km/h wind from the northwest drifting it; a street that fills back past 5 cm is plowed again. Every town in the gallery met this storm, each with a fleet sized to its streets: about one truck per 150 km of street to plow, at most six.
In 21 of the 28 towns one pass of the plan takes 3.5 hours or more. Those towns were clear about one pass after the snow stopped: 0.97× a pass at the median, from 0.85× in Bel Air to 1.14× in Juneau. At 2.5 cm an hour a plowed street is back past 5 cm about 2 h after its plow, so a fleet that needs longer than that to get round can’t keep every street under it while the snow falls. Where a pass takes less than that (Canton, Leadville), the town was clear within 56 min of the snow stopping.
The plans drive 15% of their distance blade-up at the median; the storm, 28%. Of the storm’s deadhead, 70% to 100% is driving to re-plow streets that filled back in.
| Town | Street to plow | Trucks | One pass | All clear after the snow | Over 5 cm, average street | Deadhead, plan → storm |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canton, MD | 48 km | 1 | 1.6 h | 56 min | 1.4 h | 12% → 40% |
| Leadville, CO | 69 km | 1 | 1.8 h | 52 min | 1.5 h | 1% → 32% |
| Oberlin, OH | 92 km | 1 | 2.3 h | 1.9 h | 2.4 h | 1% → 27% |
| River Edge, NJ | 110 km | 1 | 2.8 h | 1.9 h | 2.7 h | 4% → 19% |
| Galena, IL | 106 km | 1 | 2.8 h | 2.8 h | 3.2 h | 2% → 25% |
| Ithaca, NY | 233 km | 2 | 3.4 h | 2.9 h | 3.9 h | 7% → 24% |
| Houghton-Hancock, MI | 230 km | 2 | 3.4 h | 3 h | 3.4 h | 9% → 24% |
| Elkridge, MD | 212 km | 2 | 3.6 h | 3.3 h | 4.1 h | 14% → 30% |
| Bel Air, MD | 125 km | 1 | 4.1 h | 3.4 h | 4.7 h | 10% → 21% |
| Saratoga Springs, NY | 561 km | 4 | 4.2 h | 3.8 h | 4.1 h | 9% → 23% |
| Dubois, PA | 569 km | 4 | 4.2 h | 4.3 h | 3.7 h | 14% → 29% |
| Portland, ME | 745 km | 5 | 4.6 h | 4.7 h | 4.7 h | 16% → 30% |
| Northampton, MA | 451 km | 3 | 4.6 h | 4.3 h | 4.4 h | 17% → 29% |
| Brattleboro, VT | 307 km | 2 | 4.7 h | 5.1 h | 4.9 h | 18% → 33% |
| Ellicott City, MD | 847 km | 6 | 4.7 h | 5 h | 5 h | 20% → 33% |
| Woodstock, VT | 323 km | 2 | 4.7 h | 5.1 h | 4.9 h | 16% → 30% |
| Marquette, MI | 316 km | 2 | 4.9 h | 4.7 h | 5 h | 11% → 24% |
| Steamboat Springs, CO | 331 km | 2 | 5 h | 5 h | 5.3 h | 11% → 25% |
| Keene, NH | 479 km | 3 | 5 h | 4.7 h | 4.8 h | 16% → 27% |
| Minot, ND | 755 km | 5 | 5.2 h | 5 h | 5.1 h | 17% → 28% |
| Montpelier, VT | 160 km | 1 | 5.2 h | 4.8 h | 5.1 h | 23% → 31% |
| Burlington, VT | 337 km | 2 | 5.4 h | 5.2 h | 5.5 h | 15% → 25% |
| Flagstaff, AZ | 991 km | 6 | 5.6 h | 5.9 h | 5.4 h | 21% → 32% |
| Erie, PA | 1,072 km | 6 | 5.6 h | 5.2 h | 5.4 h | 12% → 21% |
| Breckenridge, CO | 180 km | 1 | 6 h | 6.6 h | 5.8 h | 17% → 30% |
| Juneau, AK | 664 km | 4 | 6.5 h | 7.4 h | 6.7 h | 30% → 45% |
| Easton, PA | 202 km | 1 | 6.5 h | 6.2 h | 6.2 h | 15% → 23% |
| Duluth, MN | 1,625 km | 6 | 9.5 h | 10.1 h | 7.4 h | 24% → 35% |