Syracuse (WSYR-TV) - Temperatures in Central New York hovered around 70 degrees on Tuesday and the temperature was expected to go up on Wednesday.
Although fall has barely begun, the Syracuse Department of Public Works is already planning for the anticipated winter.
The DPW is well into turning their fleet into precision snow-clearing machines.
They’re going over the brakes and tires and putting on the plows. They're also cleaning out the boxes from the asphalt and leaves to make sure they’re ready for salt even though there’s no sign of snow on the horizon.
"The freak snowstorm, the citizens aren't going to be saying well 'Geez, you got to give them time to convert their trucks.' That's not what happens. We have to be ready for whenever it comes and we will be,” said DPW Commissioner Pete O’Connor.
If they needed them today, there are 12 trucks ready to be deployed to move snow. The DPW actually begins planning for winter in August.
"Making sure what we're going to get done with different departments before the winter, before the snow flies and start to prepare for the snow that's going to be coming. It's kind of depressing, end of baseball season, start of football season, into basketball season, you go, it's here,” O’Connor said.
Last season’s mild conditions helped the department save a lot of money, but it all went back into the general fund.
