Rookie snowplow drivers in Maryland prep for first major test this weekend
FREDERICK COUNTY, Md. - If there’s snow in the DMV this weekend, it may take plow drivers in some localities more time than usual to clear the roads.
"The people who will be plowing snow, some of them have quite a bit of experience, but there will be a lot of rookies out there also," said Mike Ramsburg, department head of Frederick County’s Division of Public Works.
Early snowfall expected Saturday before shift to rain across DC region
The FOX 5 Weather Team has been closely monitoring a winter storm that is expected to impact the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic on Saturday and Sunday.
Here’s why: back at the end of 2021, still in the pandemic, FOX 5 reported on how some localities couldn’t find enough plow drivers.
"It’ll take longer to complete the process this year than it has in the past," Ramsburg explained at the time.
Plow driver shortages could potentially impact snow removal this winter
You’ve probably heard about all kinds of driver shortages currently impacting daily life from truck drivers to delivery drivers to school bus drivers. And with winter setting in, it appears as though plow driver shortages may become a problem too.
Now in 2024, Frederick County has plenty of drivers, more than 130 of them, but with all that turnover – and a few years without much snow – yet again, getting the white stuff off the roads, despite plenty of training, may take longer than before.
DC snow forecast: Most significant snowfall in 2 years possible Saturday for parts of DC metro area
A slushy mix of snow could be on the ground by Saturday afternoon as the Washington, D.C. area prepares for its first significant snowfall of the season - and possibly the most snow parts of the metro area have seen over the last two years.
"The old saying ‘experience doesn’t cost, it pays.’ If it’s your first year, we want you to take longer," Ramsburg said. "You can do your virtual training, you can do practical training where we set up the snow plows, they go out and do dry runs, going over your route to be familiar with it, but that doesn’t really completely prepare you for when it’s snowing an inch-and-a-half per hour and the wind is blowing 30 miles per hour. For that, you have to just live it and gain the experience by doing it."
Ramsburg added that this isn’t just a Frederick issue, noting that he’s heard of the same problem in other parts of the region too.