Philadelphia declares snow emergency, closes schools on Monday ahead of weekend snowstorm

Philadelphia will be under a snow emergency this weekend as snow, possible sleet and a wintry mix head to the region.

Mayor Cherelle Parker said the snow emergency will begin at 9 p.m. Saturday. The city is urging people who do not need to park on city streets to move their vehicles — and to move them off of snow emergency routes.

Philly closing schools, pledges to plow every street

All School District of Philadelphia schools will be closed on Monday, Jan. 26, Superintendent Tony Watlington said. Students will be sent home with a Chromebook over the weekend. If there are closings Tuesday or beyond, those will be remote learning days.

Meanwhile, all archdiocesan high schools and elementary schools in the city will have a flexible instruction day.

The emergency will remain in effect until roadway conditions improve, Parker said.

Parker said a city work force of 1,000 people will clear snow around the clock with some 600 pieces of equipment. The mayor is confident that every street, no matter the size, will see a plow.

"It will take as long as it takes for them to do their job," Parker said. "We won't leave any block, neighborhood behind."

Parker said past administrations were not able to plow smaller residential streets, but under her administration, that is not acceptable.

"We will make every effort to get every primary, secondary and tertiary street and that is our standard," Parker said. "It will take as long as it takes, but know that we won't leave any block, any community behind."

Director of Clean & Green Initiatives Carlton Williams said there will be a 24/7 operation making sure the roads are passable after the snow falls. Crews will be out helping shovel out ADA ramps and in some densely populated neighborhoods, the city may lift out snow and haul it away to be piled up, or melted with an industrial melter, Williams said.

The city's snow emergency means that cars parked on those routes must be moved.

"Your cars will be towed," Williams said. "Snow emergency routes are necessary for first responders to get places quickly."

All trash and recycling services have been suspended for Monday and every collection day later in the week will be pushed back one day -- if you have twice-a-week collection, it will only be once a week this week. 

The city has 30,000 tons of salt on hand. Crews will implement lift strategies to move large amounts of snow out of tight city neighborhoods into triaxles. The snow will then be driven to an industrial-sized melter or a handful of properties where it will be piled up to melt naturally.

Dominick Mireles, the city's director of emergency management, urged residents to sign up for text message updates from the city by texting READYPHILA to 888777.

And while you should expect travel to be difficult Sunday and Monday, this doesn't mean you need to hoard groceries or other supplies, Mireles said.

"Now, this does not mean to hoard. We have seen some of the grocery stores already. That is not necessary," Mireles said. "There are absolutely plenty of supplies, and the supply chains for groceries and goods are still performing regular activity. You may find a store that is out at that exact moment, they may be resupplied several hours later. Now is not the time to hoard and take something that your neighbor might need ... we are talking with those suppliers around the clock in our emergency operations center."

Residents were also asked not to save shoveled-out parking spots with cones or other items like lawn chairs. Walkways should have a 36-inch-wide path to allow pedestrians and the U.S. Postal Service to get through.

SEPTA is suspending Regional Rail and bus service starting at 2 p.m. Sunday due to the storm. The transit authority said its Market-Frankford and Broad Street Lines will be the most reliable services.

Our NEXT Weather meteorologists say multiple types of precipitation are possible with this storm.

Meanwhile, at stores across the region, salt and ice melt are in high demand.

Philadelphia trash collection suspended Monday

Philadelphia trash collection and recycling are suspended on Monday. City officials said they would notify residents if it resumes, but the city is currently a day behind. 

There will be no twice-a-week trash collection this week in those areas that receive it.

No free salt in Philadelphia

During a press conference Sunday, city officials had a reminder for residents to not believe everything they see on social media. Director of Clean and Green Initiatives, Carlton Williams, said they have received comments that the city is giving away free salt; however, he says that is not true. 

"It is not the case," Williams said. "We need our salt for our roadways and events, because we cannot afford to give it away and be in a situation where we have icy conditions all over the city of Philadelphia. To find out the facts, contact our official social media networks at www.Phila.gov. Please don't look at erroneous Facebook posts and think that is the law. We must make sure that we be diligent and be smart about the work that we're doing here in the city of Philadelphia." 

Philadelphia courts closed Monday

The Courts of Philadelphia will be closed Monday ahead of the winter storm. 

All Monday cases, both in person and virtual, with the exception of Orphans' Court, will be rescheduled. You can contact the court on the Courts of Philadelphia website for new dates. 

All hearings scheduled in the Orphans' Court Division will proceed as scheduled virtually by Zoom. 

Anyone summoned for jury duty Monday has been excused. 

Pennsylvania issues disaster declaration

Gov. Josh Shapiro signed a disaster emergency to make resources available for the upcoming winter storm, which will impact Pennsylvania this weekend.

"Our teams at the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA), the Pennsylvania State Police (PSP), and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) have been working to prepare to support Pennsylvanians as this winter storm impacts our Commonwealth," Shapiro said. 

The governor's disaster declaration will allow the state to quickly draw down funding and provide state agencies with the resources needed to assist counties and municipalities with winter storm response efforts.  

PennDOT announces Tier 4 vehicle restriction

The Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency announced that a Tier 4 vehicle restriction will be in place on all interstates in the commonwealth, along with the Pennsylvania Turnpike and its extensions, starting at midnight Saturday.

Under this restriction, commercial vehicles (such as tractor-trailers), buses, motorcycles, RVs and vehicles towing trailers are not permitted to drive on the affected roads.

When it comes to keeping Pennsylvania roads clear during the storm, PennDOT officials said their top priority will be highways and interstates, like the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

The transportation department is warning drivers, however, that driving conditions could be dangerous and is urging anyone who doesn't have to travel to stay home.

PennDOT has already been brining and pre-treating the roads in anticipation of this storm.

Once the snow starts falling, the department will deploy hundreds of plows and trucks while also bringing in additional resources from other parts of the state.

PennDOT, stocked with more than 70,000 tons of salt, said it has plenty to keep roads covered.

Because temperatures are expected to be well below freezing, officials want drivers to be aware that rock salt doesn't work as well on the roads when it's that cold out.

"One pound of salt will melt about 46 pounds of ice and snow at 30 degrees," Tom Rogal, senior assistant district executive for maintenance at PennDOT, said. "And at 10-15 degrees, it's about 1 pound to 5 pounds. So you can only imagine how much more salt we would need. And at some point, that doesn't even function that well."

Officials say road restrictions will be lifted as conditions improve.