Winter Storm to Impact City Services

Take Precautions to Protect Your Family and Property

January 02, 2018

The National Weather Service (NWS) has issued a winter storm warning for Tallahassee. With temperatures dropping well below freezing and precipitation expected, freezing rain, sleet and even snow could occur. This will impact some City of Tallahassee services, and citizens are urged to take precautions. The City will continue to work with area partners and monitor the storm. Crews are on standby and will respond as needed.

Public Works crews from the City and Leon County will begin applying sand to bridges and overpasses at 8 p.m. tonight, January 2. They will be on-call throughout the night to address trouble spots. Due to potentially icy conditions, citizens are encouraged to stay off the roads as much as possible.

The special meeting of the Tallahassee City Commission scheduled for tomorrow, January 3, has been moved from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. It will still take place in the City Commission Chambers at City Hall, 300 S. Adams St., be aired live on WCOT (Comcast and CenturyLink channel 13) and streamed live on Talgov.com.

City administrative offices, parks and community centers (including the Senior Center) will delay opening until 10 a.m.

To help keep passengers safe and roads clear for response personnel, StarMetro service will begin at 10 a.m. tomorrow.

Residential garbage/recycling collection, including yard waste and bulky item pickup, will run the holiday week pickup tomorrow as scheduled, starting at 7 a.m. Some commercial customers who typically receive service at midnight will be serviced tomorrow morning starting at 8 a.m. A City collection crew that typically services dumpsters overnight will begin collection at 8 a.m. and will only service containers that are at overflow or considered essential.

The Tallahassee International Airport remains open. As with any severe weather event, customers are encouraged to verify the status of their commercial flights with their airline prior to heading to the airport. Airport staff are actively monitoring the situation, remain in close communication with key partners, have implemented appropriate preparedness actions (generator checks, staffing adjustments, etc.) and will continue to advise of significant developments as appropriate.

The City's Electric Utility is ready to respond to outages, should they occur. The Electric Utility asks residents to assist in the event power is lost by turning off heating systems until power is restored (i.e., lights come back on). When power is being restored, the pull of thousands of heating systems all starting at once can cause a surge that causes the electric circuit to shut back down. Customers can call 891-4968 for utility service needs or use the DigiTally app.

The Tallahassee Fire Department advises residents to be extra careful when using supplemental heating units. Make sure all combustible materials, such as drapes or chairs, are at least three feet away from any heating unit. To reduce the chance of fire, avoid using flammable liquids to start fireplaces and do not leave a fireplace unattended. Most importantly, check your smoke alarm to make sure it is working properly.

To avoid water pipes breaking due to frigid air, utility customers are advised to run at least one faucet in their home or business at a thin stream. This allows water to flow through the pipes and lowers the risk of broken water lines during freezing conditions. Unlike other liquids, water expands when it freezes. When water pipes freeze, the expanding water can break the pipe, and customers can be left with a thoroughly soaked house when the pipes thaw.

Citizens might see water trickling out of spigots in area parks and public spaces. This is part of the City's Parks, Recreation and Neighborhood Affairs (PRNA) department cold-weather plan to prevent or minimize issues caused by the cold. Signs should be posted nearby when this occurs, but if you see water running lightly from a pipe when arctic air threatens, please do not turn it off. This is intentional.

The City of Tallahassee is prepared to respond to this weather event and encourages residents to prepare and stay informed. Updates will be posted on Talgov.com, Facebook.com/COTNews and Twitter.com/COTNews.

Contact Information

Alison Faris, Department of Communications, 891-8533