Snow events | Department of Streets

The Department of Streets, residents, and businesses keep streets and sidewalks clear and safe during snow events.

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To view the status of salting and plowing operations during a winter weather event, visit StreetSmartPHL and click on PlowPHL.

Salting and plowing operations during a winter weather event depend upon the amount of snow that sticks.

Snow amount	Treatment
Less than 1 inch	Salt bridges and primary roadways (major arterial roads and emergency snow routes)
1–3 inches	Salt primary and secondary routes (streets that provide access to schools, business areas, grocery stores, and service stations) Depending on conditions, residential streets that are on steep hills may also be salted
3–5 inches	Salt and plow: Primary and secondary streets Residential streets on hills One lane of high elevation residential streets Snow lifting/melting operations proceed in central business district
5 or more inches	Salt and plow all City streets, including: Plowing and salting one lane of all residential streets Clearing intersections Treating commercial corridors If the temperature is below freezing, Streets will use contractors to clear snow in neighborhoods with smaller streets.

View snow accumulation service maps for these treatment levels.

Contact Philly311 for salting and plowing requests.

Philadelphia’s snow emergency routes must be clear when there’s a winter storm, so that snow plows can pass through.

Visit the snow emergency routes page to learn:

Be sure to include curb cuts when you shovel.
Clear snow from neighborhood sewer drains to allow melting snow to drain.
Keep fire hydrants clear. Shovel three to five feet around your block’s hydrant so firefighters can gain access safely during an emergency response.

View more details in the Philadelphia Code 10-720.