DPW Prepared for Possible Weekend Storm

Just when the snow from the blizzard of '13 was starting to melt, more may be on the way. According to WHDH Meteorologist Jeremy Reiner's latest weather blog post, we may see another six to 12 inches this weekend.

"The reason being, our stormy pattern rolls on and our next storm takes aim on New England for the upcoming weekend. At this time here's what I'm thinking: Certainly looks like a plowable snow for much of southern New England (You want a number don't you?----OK----6-12" seems like a good starting point)," Reiner said.

According to his timeline, the snow will start around 3 p.m. Saturday and will continue into Sunday morning.

"Coastal flooding could be a concern for the 10 a.m. high tide on Sunday morning---the tide heights will not be as high as they were during the blizzard," he said.

At least the DPW is ready for the possible storm. According to DPW Director Jeffrey Zager, they will make sure all of the equipment, plows and trucks are ready to go and they have 750 tons of salt on hand.

"We'll be ready," he said.

Five or six inches will be easier to handle than the 24 Reading received during the last blizzard, Zager said. During that storm, the department had contractor issues and some town employees ended up working 36 hours straight to plow the roads, he explained.

Since the last storm, he has met with some of the new contractors to go over expectations. One of the issues was the techniques they were using, as well as break time. Some of the contractors hired this year have only worked for the state before. The state allows breaks, but towns do not. They understand now what the expectations are when working for a town, Zager said.

"I think we should be in good shape,” he told Patch.

The department worked on pothole repairs Wednesday and will continue Thursday.