“Last year, it was kind of different because we saw a lot of our snow early on in the season in October, and that all melted off, so we didn't really get a lot of benefit from that snowpack. But this year, we kind of had that snow in the sweet spot where we got it right in the start of winter and we've continued to see a lot of that snow in the mountains,” explained meteorologist Erik Johnson.
The amount of snow we are continuing to see this season will help with drought conditions, as well as with fire season. According to Erik, we want to continue building on our snowpack up to April 1st, in order to have runoff through June.
“We have a really active weather pattern setting up for February so far; it looks like the next two weeks are going to be cold and snowy,” said Johnson. I know we are not enjoying the cold, but we need the snow, of course, so that's some good news.”
Even with the cold weather, there are professions that require their employees to continue working outside despite the potentially below zero temperatures. From mail carriers and delivery drivers to construction workers and carpenters, the work must go on.
Mario Martinez, the carpenters union regional manager, said “It can be challenging for a person working outdoors.”
“There could be a lot of weather-related hazards like slips and falls on ice, things like that, that you have to be really aware of, or just the sheer coldness of the outdoors. You make sure that your hands and feet are warm, you know, so those all come into play,” explained Martinez.
According to Martinez, most companies have individual policies in place for certain weather conditions.
“Some are zero degrees, some could be at negative 20 degrees; a lot of that is dictated by safety, and then also production, you know. As it gets colder, certain projects can really suffer production because it's just harder for the workers that are working outdoors to move fast and meet, you know, production requirements for the project,” Martinez said.
Weather may impact various day to day activities, and for outdoor workers, there are policies in place to ensure the work is getting done, while they're also staying safe and healthy.
