Landscaping Snow Operations: Preparing for a Volatile 2025-26 Season

The past few wild winters have made an unpredictable business even more challenging to manage — particularly for snow professionals in areas that have experienced below-average snow totals.

“It doesn’t matter when you’re in the snow business though,” says Mike Arnold, president of Creekside Outdoor Living in Crown Point, Ind. “You always have to prepare for an apocalypse. But after the last two winters we’d had, I have started to change how I think about snow. How many accounts do we actually want to pursue? Are there other revenue streams we can chase to keep our landscape crews busy during the winter? It’s been tough.”

The past few winters have also been tough in southern New England. Shawn Kerwin, director of snow operations at LEI Corp., in Boylston, Mass., says the historical average snowfall is 70-75 inches per year. The five-year average is running less than 50, and last winter was in the mid-30s. To make matters worse, snowstorm intensity can vary drastically throughout LEI’s expansive geographic market area.

“Things can get tricky when you’re trying to stay on top of conditions,” Kerwin says. “Additionally, even though snow totals are way down, the number of mixed events we’ve been seeing have increased threefold. Those are the tough ones. It costs a lot more because crews are constantly out monitoring sites and putting applications down to keep everyone safe.”

Down in the Philadelphia market, unpredictability has become standard.

“Snow season has become very volatile in our region,” says John Caramanico Jr., president of C. Caramanico & Sons in Upland, Penn. “It seems like the last six or seven winters have been below average. But the thing is, the moment you let your guard down, you can get yourself in trouble. We haven’t had any measurable snow work in December in several years. But we’ll still be ready to battle snow by Nov. 15. We have to be ready. When things change, they always seem to change to the extreme anymore. It’s hard to build a business around that. That’s one reason why we’ve decided to focus on growing the landscape side of our business and just let the snow side follow.”

Photo courtesy of LEI Corporation

Another 80 miles south in Dover, Del., the past couple of winters have actually been above average.

“Weather changes drastically in our area,” says Jonny Nichols, CEO and president of Jonny Nichols Landscape Maintenance, which only provides snow removal services to existing full-service clients. “Philly to our north and D.C. to our south may each get 10 inches, but southern Delaware may only end up with an inch, or vice versa. It has a lot to do with how storm systems come across the Chesapeake Bay. The past couple of winters have been strong for us. But the three winters before that were hardly anything. It’s really hit or miss. The only thing we can do is be prepared, so that’s what we focus on.”

Mitigating risk through operational efficiency

To lessen some of the risk associated with weather volatility, leading snow companies are looking inwardly to find ways of working more efficiently. Doing so helps reduce labor and equipment cost, while also improving quality control and client satisfaction.

“Even though snow totals are way down, the number of mixed events we’ve been seeing have increased threefold.” — Shawn Kerwin, director of snow operations, LEI Corp.

Skyrocketing insurance premiums are also forcing some snow companies to focus on efficiency-driven cost reduction.

“Some insurers in our area aren’t even writing snow policies anymore,” Kerwin says, adding that it’s almost entirely attributable to what he refers to as the “slip-and-fall epidemic” in the industry. Fortunately, LEI hasn’t lost its insurance provider, though premiums have gone up several hundred percent in recent years.

The spike in insurance costs isn’t enough to completely bust the bottom line for those in snow operations, but it stings enough that Kerwin and his team have been forced to take action. “Taking advantage of technology and putting better systems in place has become a focal point for us,” Kerwin says.

A key piece of technology has been a combination of cameras and weather stations. These tech tools help Kerwin’s crews stay on top of specific site conditions, which is important because LEI covers a wide area where the weather can vary greatly in a matter of just 10 miles.

“The cameras and weather stations have been huge on our more remote sites,” Kerwin says. “The radar might show dark blue, but the snow might not be reaching the ground because the dew point is still pretty low. The camera lets us see what’s happening on a site in real time. Then the weather station reports the actual dew point, along with data like air and surface temperatures. Weather stations also provide a pretty close estimate as to when the first inch will accumulate. This technology can help save a lot of manhours wasted by dispatching a crew prematurely.”

Technology can definitely help crews manage sites more efficiently. But sometimes, good old-fashioned team huddles provide more value than anything — especially in markets where snow events are more infrequent and muscle memory is less likely to kick in.

“We have a team meeting a day or two before every forecasted storm,” Nichols says. “These meetings help us stay focused and sharp. We also rely on a combination of local weather forecasts and data from a weather-tracking app we use. Sometimes things don’t pan out like the forecast said they would, but we’ll always make sure we’re prepared.”

Gaining an edge with the right equipment

Nichols’ equipment fleet includes five plow trucks, two salt trucks and five loaders. One change he’s made is the shift from box plows to wing plows.

“Wing plows allow our operators to extend out for further coverage when they need it, but also set it to an angle plow when that’s needed, or even in a box blade configuration for picking up windrows,” Nichols says. “The versatility has been a game-changer. And it’s all hydraulically operated, so our operators love them.”

Kerwin has also taken a liking to wing plows. “They’ve helped us reduce salt use because they’re amazing at scraping,” he says. “They contour to changing pavement grades, scraping up hard-packed snow and ice.”

Kerwin began testing a wing plow on a new piece of equipment last year. He was pleased with the result and is looking to add more configurations like this to his fleet.

“Sometimes things don’t pan out like the forecast said they would, but we’ll always make sure we’re prepared.” —John Caramanico Jr., president of C. Caramanico & Sons

“We’ve started switching some of our fleet from wheel loaders to 140-hp farm tractors,” Kerwin says. “In Massachusetts, operators need a special ‘hoisting license’ for operating things like loaders. But it doesn’t apply to farm tractors. That has helped open up our potential labor pool by a lot. This size tractor is also very cost-effective, almost half the price of a big wheel loader.”

Caramanico has focused his attention on sidewalk-clearing equipment, specifically a fleet of dedicated stand-on machines. That’s because his company caters to clientele that have more sidewalks than parking lots, such as campuses and medical centers.

“With our focus on sidewalks, we’ve found that staffing is much easier,” Caramanico says. “We can quickly move employees over from our landscaping division because they have experience operating mowers and other smaller equipment. Stand-on snow machines are an easy transition.”

Nichols has also become a fan of stand-on snow machines. They’ve made staffing easier for him, too, simply because they are so efficient. “Stand-on machines help our crews keep going all day, where shoveling would wear them out in a few hours,” Nichols says.

Arnold agrees, with one slight tweak.

“We really love using our stand-on mowers to plow sidewalks,” Arnold says. “Yes, the mowers struggle a little in slick conditions because they are just two-wheel drive, but overall they work very well. I want maximum utilization of my equipment all year long. That’s become even more important since the past couple of winters have been so light.”

Will the upcoming 2025-26 snow operations season be another light one? It’s anybody’s guess, and will ultimately come down to where you’re located. The best snow companies will be prepared either way, finding ways to work smarter and plan better. For many, the preparation is well underway.

The author is a freelance writer based in Wisconsin.