Winter Storm Recovery Mode

Yes, it’s the South, and no, we don’t usually face harsh winter weather. However, when two very different back-to-back systems hit the Carolinas, CLT was ready for both, thanks to extensive preparation and new equipment.

The first event, called Winter Storm Fern, impacted the Charlotte area on January 24-25, bringing ice, freezing rain, and sleet to a large part of the country. The following weekend, January 30-February 1, Winter Storm Gianna dropped a historic 11 inches of heavy, continuous snowfall at CLT, lasting more than 24 hours.

Winter weather preparations began as early as last August, with teams and equipment on the runways and taxiways practicing formations and moving materials.

“There’s the Blue Angels, and then we have our Snow Angels,” said CLT Assistant Facilities Maintenance Director Scott Kincaid. “The coordination that they have and the patterns that they take, it’s like clockwork.”

New Equipment Clocks In

CLT also recently took delivery of two new multi-function plows (a plow-broom-blower combination), three new dedicated front brooms and a new spreader truck. Approximately 60 tons of solid deicer were used during Fern, and nearly 120 tons during Gianna.

The new equipment joined three vintage multi-function plows from Calgary, Alberta, and a liquid deicer already in the fleet.

For each weather event, CLT had 300 staff on site for the response, working in two shifts around the clock. This included crews on the airfield and behind the scenes, including in the Airport Emergency Operations Center, which served as the central hub for coordinating the storm response.

All three of CLT’s runways were closed for six hours in near white-out conditions on Saturday, Jan. 31, from 3 p.m. to around 9 p.m. (Even our snow removal equipment had to be deiced!) Snow was removed, stored, and is still being hauled away almost a week later; however, CLT was nearly fully operational within 12 hours of each weather event.

Safety First

While weather-related flight delays and cancellations were inevitable, safety remained the top priority before, during, and after both storms.

“It was very methodical and professionally executed,” said CLT’s Director of Operations for Regulatory Compliance Joe Conklin. “Otherwise, we wouldn’t be able to recover these runways and taxiways the way that they did.”

“The recovery takes time,” added Kevin Wu, CLT’s Director of Operations for Emergency Services. “Even though it stops snowing, we still need time to get all the snow out and get the aircraft de-iced before we can get you safely on your way. “