Call 911. The Police or Fire Department will respond to your call, with Public Works' assistance if needed.

During an inclement weather event, information will be updated on the Town's website at www.townofchapelhill.org/emergency.

To sign up for emailed news notices from the Town of Chapel Hill, send an email to info@townofchapelhill.org or visit townofchapelhill.org/signup. For more safety information, visit readync.org and download the ReadyNC app on your iPhone or Android smartphone. On Twitter, follow @OCNCEmergency, @ChapelHillGov, @ChapelHillFD, and @ChapelHillPD.

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In Chapel Hill, we do not usually have the number of snows or the depth of snowfall experienced by our northern neighbors. We average about 8 inches of snow per year. This snowfall may come in the form of multiple moderate storms or one to two major storms. Some winters experience no snow at all.

Listen to the weather forecast and buy food supplies prior to anticipated snowfall.

When snowfall begins, park your car in your driveway off of the street if possible. This protects your car from snow removal chemicals and expedites the snow removal process.

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Snowplows are more effective on straight, level streets. They are not very maneuverable on narrow, winding streets or dead ends. This means that those kinds of streets may not be as clear after plowing.

Ice is extremely difficult to plow. Lower temperatures and less sunshine both make for a challenging snow/ice removal process.

Brine is used as an anti-icing or pre-wetting measure. Anti-icing can be accomplished by using traditional salt brine (usually a 23% salt solution derived from rock salt) and applying to roadways in preparation for snow/ice. The layer of brine helps keep the snow/ice from bonding to the pavement, facilitating an easier snow removal process.

We will always concentrate on the higher priority streets until they are passable. Short non-through streets and cul-de-sacs are plowed or treated if time permits. If snow falls quickly, we may have to stop plowing secondary streets and return to primary roadways.

NCDOT State crews also pretreat and plow state-maintained roads in Chapel Hill, incuding five major roads classified as "NCDOT Primary":

Marting Luther King Jr. Blvd/Columbia St./US 15-501

Franklin Street

Fordham Blvd

Manning Drive

South Road/Raleigh Road/Hwy. 54

When snow accumulates to about two inches, plowing operations begin. Depths of less than two inches cannot be plowed with real success.

Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools (CHCCS) staff is responsible for clearing school drives and parking lots. Decisions to delay or close schools are made by the City and County school districts. We work closely with CHCCS staff, who ultimately make decisions about school closures. Our snow/ice clearing process prioritizes roadways with access to CHCCS schools.

For information from Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools, visit chccs.k12.nc.us

For information from Orange County Public Schools, visit orangecountyncfirst.com

For information from Durham County Public Schools, visit dpssnc.net

The Town will spread sand on bridges and certain very steep streets when it is likely that freezing conditions will occur. After traffic passes over snow or ice for a while, it becomes packed down into a nearly solid mass which cannot be plowed. At that time, we typically spread a sand mixture only at problem locations. We try to use both salt and sand sparingly, to minimize problems associated with its use, such as sedimentation.

You can use interactive map to see which roads have been plowed in Chapel Hill. gis.townofchapelhill.org/adverse_weather

Plowing requires that snow is plowed into driveways and sidewalks. The property owner or resident is responsible for clearing their driveway entrace/exit, but please do not push the snow into the streets.

Before clearing your driveway apron, please remember that the snow plow may make multiple passes on your street until it is clear or safe for motorists. We realize this can be frustrating to residents, however we simply don't have the resources to clear thousands of driveway aprons.

The Town's limited resources are concentrated on clearing roadways first to make sure emergecy crews can respond quickly and safely throughout the Town. This also helps to return the Transit System to its regular routes as quickly as possible.

Thanks to our hard-working Chapel Hill crews, sidewalks are cleared at all Town of Chapel Hill public facilities (Town Hall, fire stations, the library, the police station, and community centers). We also have undertaken new efforts to remove snow from sidewalks in the downtown area (both sides of Franklin Street from Henderson to Graham Streets) and a key transit corridor (the entire stretch along Columbia Street from Cameron Avenue, across Franklin and to Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard to Homestead Road).

That's a lot of shoveling! Our crews are working hard to return the Town to normal. It's a team effort and we greatly apreciate the assistance of our residents.

If able, citizens are encouraged to clear sidewalks as well as driveway aprons in front of their homes or businesses, but please do not to push this snow into the streets.

If you have a question we have not answered or made clear, please email info@townofchapelhill.org