The National Weather Service said the region could expect to see up to 22 inches of snow by this morning. At times, snow fell at a rate of more than 2 inches per hour.

For AMED, preparations for the storm began early in the week.

“Our vendors were putting studded snow tires on our vehicles (Tuesday) in anticipation of the storm,” AMED Executive Director Gary Watters said.

The department also increased staffing for the storm to ensure ample coverage was available, he said.

A vehicle travels through near white-out conditions on Glendale Lake Road in Clearfield Township, Cambria County, on Wednesday afternoon. Mirror photo by Patrick Waksmunski

“The biggest impact snowstorms have on us is delays in our response time,” Watters said. “Snow on the roads, in long driveways and on unshoveled walks provide obstacles for crews to get people from their homes to the ambulance.”

Watters said residents can help emergency responders by clearing sidewalks of snow, especially for elderly neighbors, who are at higher risk of needing emergency assistance during a snowstorm.

At the Altoona Public Works Department, large winter snowstorms means “all hands on deck,” said Nathan Kissell, the public works director.

“We recall people from vacation to help with a storm like this,” Kissell said. “And with all of our routes, we always try to keep 13 trucks plowing, and we have a couple in reserve in case of mechanical failure.”

Narrow streets and rows of cars parked along nearly every street can present challenges for plow drivers attempting to keep emergency routes clear for first responders, he said.

Kissell advised residents to follow plow route parking guidelines in the days after the storm. Those guidelines can be found on the department’s website, www.altoonapa.gov/PublicWorks, with other useful winter weather resources.

“The city is broken into quadrants, and we prioritize our plow routes mainly by the amount of traffic on the road,” Kissell said, explaining that special considerations are given to roads used heavily by emergency services and public transit. “Really, we only jump into the secondary roads once the snow stops.”

Altoona Police Department spokesman Sgt. Matt Plummer said officers are doubling up in their patrol cars to reduce the number of vehicles on the road, but enforcement efforts aren’t significantly impacted by the snow.

“Fortunately, a lot of our guys are recovering from COVID-19 now, so we don’t have any major concerns about staffing at this point,” Plummer said. “We expect more motor vehicle accidents and advise people to stay home, but we still have our regular duties to attend to.”

Previously, the department would put chains on their patrol vehicles’ tires, but nowadays, he said the vehicles have all-wheel drive and don’t require chains.

If Altoona declares a snow emergency, the Altoona Fire Department will set up an Emergency Operations Center near Fire Station No. 1 on Washington Avenue, Altoona Fire Chief Tim Hileman said.

“We haven’t declared a snow emergency since probably around 2010,” he said. “But when we do, we’ll have a call center set up to alleviate some of the pressure on emergency dispatchers.”

The call center would answer residents’ questions regarding snow removal and plow requests, and the Emergency Operations Center would be staffed by first responders and public works staff to help plan snow removal, track emergency response costs, and if needed, request federal funding assistance, Hileman said.

“The EOC’s top priority would be to track power outages and weather factors like high winds,” he said.

In the case of extended outages, shelters would be set up to protect affected residents from extreme temperatures until power could be restored to their homes.

“We also go door-to-door asking people to move their vehicles when the plow comes through,” Hileman said. “When it comes to storms like this, we do a lot more than just fight fires, but that need doesn’t go away.”

Hileman said residents should be cautious when using space heaters during the storm and avoid overloading circuits by plugging too many appliances into a single socket.

Typically, the city fire department can respond to any fire within Altoona city limits in about three minutes, but during a winter storm, he said residents should expect delays in response times.

“One of the big things we need the public to help with is snow removal around fire hydrants,” Hileman said. “The plows will pile snow up around those hydrants, and while our guys will be out there shoveling, residents can help us by clearing snow from the hydrants near their homes.”

Mirror Staff Writer Ike Fredregill is at 814-946-7458.