BETHLEHEM, Pa. - Chris Colitas has been in the snow removal business for 30 years, and 2023 was one of the worst.
Just over 5 inches of snow fell all last winter at Lehigh Valley International Airport – about 25 inches or so less than normal.
“We did just enough to pay the bills,” said Colitas, owner of Keystone Snow Management in East Allen Township. “But we didn’t make any money last year.”
That may be about to change.
A clear-cut forecast has yet to come from the National Weather Service, but a quick-moving storm headed our way this weekend could produce the first significant snowfall in two years.
That has business operators who rely on snow – and getting rid of it – licking their chops.
"I’m confident we’ll be dropping the plows this weekend. We tend to not feed into the hype, but we will always be prepared.”Freddie De Name, Blue Ridge Landscape Contractors
“We’re excited. It’s been a while,” said Freddie De Name, owner of Blue Ridge Landscape Contractors in Slatington. “It’s been lackluster the last two years. I’m confident we’ll be dropping the plows this weekend. We tend to not feed into the hype, but we will always be prepared.”
Two-year 'drought'
The winter of 2022 was another off year, with just 19.5 inches of snow in the Lehigh Valley. Snow removal companies and plow operators hope this weekend’s weather is a sign of more to come.
“Last year was definitely worse than the previous snowless winter (a few years ago) where we at least had a couple more storms that warranted us to salt,” said Jacob Longenbach, vice president of Western Lehigh Services in Upper Macungie Township. “Last year we didn’t have the cold to do that. We only plowed twice last year and after each storm it went up to 40 or 45 degrees.”
The snow drought of the past two years has many tempering their expectations.
“There’s a lot of guys that are feeling that way,” Longenbach said. “I’m a little standoffish and guarded because last year was supposed to be good. I’m more on the fence that I’ll believe it when I see it.
“Everyone’s anxious. Everyone in the industry wants to see it snow. Everyone has their hopes up. But I hate to see them crushed by an inch or two of snow followed by rain.”
500 acres of blacktop
De Name’s Blue Ridge Landscape provides snow removal mostly to retail customers and homeowners associations in Lehigh County. Crews the next two days will check gear and equipment, and make sure curb line and sign stakes are in place at properties that will be plowed, he said.
“Yes, it’s been difficult from the lack of snowy winters the last two years,” he said. “We’ve had to switch gears a little bit not just because of the weather, but the cost of being in this industry has gone up.”
Some plow services sell seasonal contracts that aren’t dependent on the number or volume of snowfalls. Others charge on a per-inch or per-event basis.
Western Lehigh Services has industrial, warehouse and commercial clients in Lehigh and Northampton counties. Longenbach said his crews will plow more than 500 acres of blacktop, but snow removal is just part of the business.
“You definitely can’t just rely on snow in this territory that we live in,” he said. “There’s enough other stuff going on. [Snow] is our main source of business in the wintertime, but we have other stuff to backfill if it doesn’t snow. The equipment is way too expensive and there’s way too much involved for it to be a hobby.”
Colitas, of Keystone Snow Management, said he’s keeping the faith that this winter will be the one to break out of the recent slump. If not, he said, he plans to roll with the punches.
After all, what can you really do about it?
“Unfortunately you can’t control the weather,” Colitas said. “It’s going to do what it’s going to do, and we’re just along for the ride.”
