Windsor ready for predicted snowstorm

Environment Canada warns nasty weather is on its way to southwestern Ontario.

The agency predicts a storm of rain and snow to start later Thursday and last through Friday.

John Miceli of the City of Windsor says snowplow crews are ready for whatever Mother Nature might bring.

"We're prepped and ready to go. We service our buildings based on priority. So the first thing we service is [senior residence] Huron Lodge and Transit Windsor. Then we go and do all our municipal parking lots, because in the event the storm does become severe, we want to offer the public a place to park," Miceli said.

Officially this year, Windsor has had zero accumulation of snow. Still, Pete Matheson, the city's maintenance manager of public works, said staff is ready. He said even without snow, crews have been prepping equipment for months:

"We still have a lot of preparedness that we've gone through in the fall to get the trucks ready," he said. "We've done some retaining on the employees to get them ready. So now everything's in place."

Environment Canada warns the predicted storm could create hazardous driving conditions as rain turns to flurries.

Even though the city hasn't spend much - if anything - on snow removal this year, less snow doesn't mean less money spent. The funds are reallocated.

"The problem with being in Windsor is that we have a lot of freeze-thaw cycles. So what we don't spend on battling snow, we spend on fixing potholes," Matheson said.