Landscape Contractors in Northeast Pray for Snow

This winter was predicted to be snowier than normal in the Northeast, according to accuweather.com. Try telling that to the guys driving around with plows on the front of their trucks - so far this winter you could call them "noplows."

Unseasonably warm temperatures, perhaps as high as the 60s, are predicted through the weekend, and there's no hint of a major storm on anyone's radar. For landscapers and others who count on plowing streets and driveways to get them through the winter, that's a bleak forecast.

"This is the worst (winter) I can remember," said Paula Filiaf, who along with her husband, John, has owned Jeffreys Creek Land Contractors in Essex, Mass., for 20 years. The company usually generates between $100,000 and $200,000 during the four-month plowing season, she said, but it's not on track for this year.

"We've barely hit seven grand," Filiaf said.

The company has six trucks dedicated to plowing roads under contract with MassHighway, and four other vehicles as well. It costs about $10,000 to prepare them for the rigors of snow removal, and so far, that investment has yielded only some salt and sand spreading last weekend.

At the height of the season, the company usually has 15 full-time employees. They're down to four now.

"The only good thing is it's been so warm, we've been able to do more excavating than normal," Filiaf said.

In Beverly, Mass., landscaper Jon Lester found a historical perspective.

"We usually only average 5 inches (of snow) in December," Lester said. "It's really not bad yet, but if it doesn't snow - like tomorrow - we'll be in trouble."

Lester figures it will take 30 inches of snow in January to put him back on track for the year. He estimates it costs him about $500 to register and insure each of his trucks from Dec. 1 to April 1 - money that is just sitting in the driveway right now.

At Hall and Emslie in Manchester, owner Dan Goodwin had trouble remembering a year that got off to such a slow start.

"It seems like we always get some snow in November or December," he said.

Goodwin has five plows and one sander, and the company specializes in plowing large residential properties. He generally employs about eight people, and so far the weather has been warm enough he's kept them busy with tree pruning and other cleanup projects.

"But if it (snow) doesn't start soon, I'll have to lay people off," he said.

Lester managed to put an altruistic spin on his bad fortune thus far this winter.

"As long as people aren't getting hurt and killed in car accidents, I'll sacrifice what I do."