A snow emergency will be in effect in Philadelphia beginning at 9:00 p.m. this evening, Monday, March 13, 2017.

Snow emergency route enforcement, with ticketing and towing, will begin at midnight.  Snow emergency information can be found here; a map of Snow Emergency routes can be found here.  Cars left on snow emergency routes will be moved to other parking spots to assist in snow plowing operations.

If your car is moved, call 215-686-SNOW to find it. Do not call 911.

Citizens are encouraged to travel with caution. Please give yourself extra time to get to your destination, and workers are encouraged to make use of flex time if available.  Caution will be particularly important during the morning rush hour, when snowfall rates could reach 1-2 inches per hour and heavy winds are expected.

The Office of Emergency Management will activate its Emergency Operations Center at 10:00 p.m. on Monday, March 13, and will remain open through the duration of the storm.

Below, please find sections with important information on shoveling, transit, trash and recycling, parking, and other City services.

City of Philadelphia business offices will open at 10:00 a.m. on Tuesday, March 14. Employees should report at that time.

Schools

All School District of Philadelphia schools will be closed tomorrow. All after-school activities including athletic programs and professional development sessions scheduled for Tuesday are canceled as well. All District early childhood centers will also be closed. In addition, School District administrative offices will be closed.

Transit

  • SEPTA: The transit agency will post real-time travel updates on its site and its Twitter account. A full rundown of service details can be found online here. The transit authority will be operating all-night service on the Broad Street and Market-Frankford line subways the evening of Monday, March 13.
  • PHL Airport: Passengers planning to fly within the next few days should check with their airlines for flight information.  Some airlines are offering travelers with flight reservations the opportunity to change their itinerary without paying the customary change fees.  Travelers are encouraged to check the airport’s website and follow @PHLAirport on Twitter for updates on weather conditions and operations.

Call Centers Open

  • Philly 311: The Philly 311 call center will remain open during normal business hours Tuesday (8:00 a.m. — 8:00 p.m.) to take calls for non-emergencies.  Requests for salting and plowing will not be taken until Thursday.
  • Philadelphia Water Department: The agency’s customer contact center 215-685-6300 will be open. Citizens are encouraged to shovel snow from the fronts of fire hydrants and storm drains on their block to allow snow melt to drain to the city sewer system.

Homeless Outreach

  • Code Blue: The City is in Code Blue until temperatures rise and it is safe to be outside again. The Office of Homeless Services has added 304 beds and 124 cafe slots for Code Blue; people do not need ID to enter Code Blue shelters or cafes from the street and can remain indoors throughout the duration of the Code Blue.  If you are concerned about someone who is homeless, please call outreach at 215-232-1984 at any time. Outreach is available 24/7.
  • First Responders: City first responders can also transport people to shelter for their own safety.

Trash, Recycling, Salting & Plowing

  • Trash & Recycling: Tuesday’s trash and recycling collections are suspended. Residents in neighborhoods that normally have collections on Tuesdays are asked to hold their trash until the following week. The Department will decide on Wednesday’s trash collection tomorrow based on the status of the plowing operation. Residents should expect delays. There will be no collections picked up in driveways for the remainder of the week beginning Tuesday. Residents should place materials at curbside in the front of their homes all week. To accommodate residents impacted by collection delays the Streets Department will extend the hours of its six Sanitation Convenience Centers until 8:00 p.m. all week.
  • Salting & Plowing: The Streets Department anticipates the salting operation to begin between 8:00 p.m. and midnight on all primary and secondary streets.  The Department will have all plows mounted by midnight. Compactors will begin plowing as soon as sufficient accumulation is on the ground. The Department has 50,000 tons of salt available.  In all, the Department – working in conjunction with Parks & Recreation, Public Property, Water Department, L & I and CLIP — is mobilizing over 400 pieces of equipment.

Philadelphia Parking Authority

The PPA will not enforce meter and time limit violations after 10:00 p.m. tonight due to the snow emergency. The PPA will enforce all snow emergency and safety violations.

Vehicles illegally parked on snow emergency routes after midnight tonight will be subject to ticketing and towing.

The Parking Authority will offer discounted parking in Center City garages during the snow emergency to help lessen the number of cars parked on the street. Beginning at 6:00 p.m. today and running through the end of the snow emergency, the Philadelphia Parking Authority will offer a special 24-hour flat rate of $5.00 for the following parking facilities:

  • AutoPark at Independence Mall (5th & Market Streets)
  • AutoPark at Jefferson (10th & Ludlow Streets)
  • Autopark at the Gallery Mall (10th & Filbert Streets)
  • Autopark at 8th & Filbert Streets Garage (801 Filbert Street)
  • AutoPark at Old City (2nd & Sansom Streets)
  • Philadelphia Family Court Garage (1503-11 Arch Street – Going south on 15th Street, enter the garage on the west side just after 15th & Cherry St.)
  • Gateway Garage (enter from Spring Street between 15th & 16th Streets)

To receive the discounted $5 rate, customers must bring their ticket and pay at the PPA Management Office in each garage.

Shoveling

Residents are expected to shovel all walkways and clear a 36-inch path within six hours after the conclusion of the storm. Failure to shovel walkways can result in a $50.00 code violation notice.

Residents and private contractors are also prohibited from shoveling or plowing snow into the streets. This creates a safety hazard and makes it difficult for the City to plow effectively.

Downed Trees

The Department of Parks and Recreation reminds residents that if a tree falls during a storm and it’s blocking a road, or it has fallen on a house, car or other property, it is an emergency and residents should call 911.

A crew of arborists from Philadelphia Parks & Recreation are on-call to respond to tree emergencies and they will come out to remove the hazard and any part of the tree that is an immediate risk to public safety. Other parts of the tree that don’t pose an immediate risk, such as tree trunks and stumps, will be removed later so crews can focus on other safety hazards around the city during extreme weather events.

If a tree has fallen on electrical wires, please call PECO’s emergency line at 1-800-841-4141.

Power Or Street Light Outages

  • Power Outages: Residents should be prepared for power outages. Heavy, wet snow is forecast with wind gusts of up to 45 miles per hour. PECO has ways to help before, during, and after a storm, including: preventing outages, storm readiness, storm restoration process, reporting outages online, and tracking current outages. Report downed wires or power outages to PECO at 1-800-841-4141.  Customers also can report their outage online at peco.com and sign up for outage alerts at peco.com/alerts. PECO also wants you to know you can report an outage on mobile via text message to 697326 (MYPECO). To report a gas emergency, please call 911.
  • Street Light Outage: Philadelphians should call the City’s non-emergency number, 311, if there is a street light outage. Street lights in Philadelphia are owned and maintained by the City.

Pet Safety

Citizens should contact the ACCT Philly hotline at 267-385-3800 if they observe a dog or other pet outside during a Code Blue. It is against City ordinance to leave dogs outside in extreme cold without proper shelter, and violators can be fined up to $500.

Philadelphia Prisons

All inmate visits are canceled Tuesday for all jails in Philadelphia County.

Stay Informed

Residents are encouraged to tune to local news for weather updates and sign up for emergency alerts and weather updates from the City’s free text-based system, ReadyPhiladelphia. You can sign up for ReadyPhiladelphia online.

You should also follow the City and municipal agencies on Twitter, including: