Haverhill Gears Up for ‘Long Duration’ Winter Storm, Snow Emergency to be Declared

Haverhill and the entire Merrimack Valley is on the storm watch with an expected 18 inches of snow expected to fall between tonight and tomorrow night.On WHAV’s morning show, Haverhill Mayor James Fiorentini talked about how the city is prepared for the storm.“Our crews are prepared. They’re working hard and I’m very, very proud of them. We had a pre-planning meeting the other day. We have another one scheduled for noon, but planning for this really starts months ahead. They have the men. They have the equipment. We have the private plowing. We have some brand new equipment, and they’re ready,” he said.The mayor also asked the public to do its part.“I will be declaring a snow emergency at some point today. A snow emergency means that if you live downtown or one of the snow emergency routes such as Emerson Street or the upper part of River Street, your car must be off both sides of the street. So, if you live in one of those areas, please make alternative areas to park. Both of the garages downtown will be open and you can move your car there, but please cooperate and keep your car off the street,” he said.Highway Superintendent Michael Arpino talked about early preparations including pre-treating the roads in anticipation of the storm.“We are pre-treating the roads with some salt. That way, when it does start snowing, the snow doesn’t stick to the streets right away. This is going to be a long duration storm. They are saying we may get up to two feet of snow, so we are out there pre-treating right now. It’s going to be long duration. The guys are going to be able to get a little bit of rest before they have to be here for 48 hours basically, if not more, as we clean up,” Arpino said.The mayor said he’s expected to announce a snow emergency at some point today and reminded residents to park on the odd side of the street if needed, but encouraged residents to get their cars off the street all together in order to assist in the street clearing in the city.Support the show