MANCHESTER, NH – A winter storm watch has been issued by the National Weather Service for Dec. 11, with snow expected to begin Sunday evening and continue for about 24 hours, into Monday night.
Due to the timing and expected amount of snow, the city has declared the first snow emergency of the season. That means no parking on city streets between 10 p.m. Sunday and 6 a.m. Monday.
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ALERT A Winter Storm Watch remains in effect from Sunday evening through Monday evening. * Hazard types: Snow. Snow may be heavy at times Monday morning hours and mix with or change to sleet in the afternoon. * Accumulations: Snow accumulation of 5 to 8 inches along with a trace of ice. * Timing: Snow will begin late Sunday night and continue through Monday. * Impacts: Snow will make for hazardous travel conditions * Winds: East 5 to 10 mph. * Temperatures: Mid to upper 20s. * Visibility: One quarter mile or less at times. Precautionary/preparedness actions: A Winter Storm Watch means there is a potential for significant snow, sleet orice accumulations that may impact travel. Continue to monitor the latest forecasts.
Below is everything you need to know about parking in a snow emergency, and where to find your car if it’s towed:
Snow Emergencies take effect from the time determined by the Public Works Director. Typically, this will be from 10 p.m. on the start date to 6 a.m. on the end date. Earlier start times and later end times may be set during unusually heavy storms.
No vehicles will be allowed to park on city streets during this time.
In the event of an impending snowstorm, the Public Works Director will call a Snow Emergency which will be in effect during the dates and times listed on one of the ‘Notification Options’ listed below. Any vehicle parked in violation of a Snow Emergency Declaration will be removed and impounded.
Look for the blinking strobe lights placed at various intersections throughout the City, listen to local radio or TV stations, or call the Highway Department at 603-624-6444 with any questions
Snow Emergency parking is available at:
• Victory Parking Garage at 25 Vine Street between 8 p.m. and 6 a.m. Vehicles parking outside these times will be subject to parking fees of $.75 per hour.
• Pearl Street Parking Lot on Orange Street between Elm and Chestnut is also available between 8 p.m. and 8 a.m. Unauthorized vehicles in the lot outside of these times will be subject to parking tickets.
Vehicles that are impounded will be stored at the City’s Vehicle Impoundment Area, located in Derryfield Park off of Bridge Street. In order to recover an impounded vehicle, the owner will be required to present proof of ownership and make a payment of $110 in cash. This must be done within 24 hours of the time when the vehicle was towed. Vehicles not recovered within 24 hours will be subject to additional towing and storage charges.
Go to www.manchesternh.gov/snow to sign up for automatic e-mail or text notifications of Snow Emergencies.
Where to park
The City Parking Authority has two locations available for parking during snow emergencies. The first location is the Victory Parking Garage located at Chestnut and Amherst Street. During snow emergencies, City residents that do not have off street parking can park for free in the garage from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. Please note that there are a limited number of spaces available for snow emergency parking in the garage. The second location is the Pearl Street Parking Lot. This lot is open for Snow Emergency parking from 5:30 p.m. to 8 a.m.. A Snow Emergency is called to allow City crews to plow the full width of the streets, therefore allowing access for emergency vehicles as well as parking once the Snow Emergency has ended.
Many automobiles are needlessly towed off of City streets at a great cost to the owners because they are in violation of the City’s Snow Emergency Parking Ban. We can automatically notify you, by way of email, or text message when there will be a snow emergency in place. Simply request automatic email notification of parking bans or follow us on Twitter in order to receive text messages on your cell phone.
The Public Works Department cannot guarantee notification on snow emergencies. Email must travel through many servers and there is a risk that the email will not be delivered, or will not be delivered in a timely fashion. Similar conditions apply for text messaging. Should you choose to subscribe with Twitter for mobile text message updates you agree to Twitter’s terms and conditions as well as any possible text message charges that may apply. The City of Manchester is not responsible for any issues, unsent text messages or costs resulting from your interaction with twitter.com or twittermail.com.
Notification Options:
- Local Radio
- Local News TV
- Call the Public Works Department at 603-624-6444
- White strobe lights activated at key intersections
- Email (mentioned above)
- Text Messaging (mentioned above)
- Monitor the city web site home page under “In the News”
