Welcoming Spring & Looking Back on a Challenging Winter
No one is happier to see spring peeking around the corner than Nu Image’s snow removal teams. It was quite a winter, as you will know if you attempted to walk or drive or do just about anything outside over the past few months.
At Nu Image, we found that February proved to be the biggest challenge for our team.
“We had five months of weather events packed into six very intense weeks,” says Richard Dobson, current Vice President of Operations, who will take over ownership of Nu Image in April.
“We typically see one or two freezing rain events over the winter,” he says, “but, in February, there were eight freezing rain events, and three occurred in the same week. On top of that, there was snow — a total 20 of the 28 days of the month had precipitation that had to be addressed. And sometimes the winds and drifting made it nearly impossible to keep parking lots and driveways cleared.”
Ice build-up became a problem too. Despite the fact that Nu Image ordered 10 percent more salt than usual at the beginning of the season, our team still wound up having to use more.
Extreme Weather is the New Normal
Record highs, record lows, snow events day and night — yes, we’re happy to see the end of winter, and particularly this one.
According to the Weather Network, these weather anomalies are becoming the norm – part and parcel of the process of climate change. As the temperature of the Great Lakes continues to rise, we need to brace ourselves for more extreme weather year-round — heavy rains and drought, extreme high and low temperatures, wind storms and that stifling humid summer air.
The Great Lakes’ moderate air temperature in southern Ontario and the northern U.S. states already has a major influence on cloud cover, rain, and snowfall. However, between 1901 and 2016 the Great Lakes basin warmed by .89 degrees Celsius and that has caused a redistribution of weather patterns.
This explains the wicked storms that dumped snow and freezing rain this winter, and it explains why we get more scorching hot days in the summer.
We Plan to Address These Challenges
Admittedly, scorching hot sounds pretty great right now. But, as with any business that relies on and works around the weather, Nu Image is also considering the kinds of changes it will have to make and technology it may need to meet these new demands.
The good news is that the snow will soon disappear even from the deepest, darkest corners of your property. And when the frost in the ground heaves its final goodbye, Nu Image will be ready to pounce – with spring lawn and garden clean-up, landscape design and installation, filling potholes and line painting in parking lots, installing patios and walkways, and more.
But that’s a post for another day. On this day, stay warm, think happy thoughts, and let’s turn our collective will to coaxing those crocuses and tulips out of the ground.
If you are looking for help with any spring maintenance or landscaping work on your commercial property,
contact the team at Nu Image today.
