There are several weather preparations and maintenance needs that are very important in urban areas. These preparations, although costly, help transportation and commerce run closer to normal and decrease threats created by the weather. The costs for these preparations are more than made up for by quickly returning the city to normal business operations. One of these preparations includes keeping the roads clear. This is done through plowing and adding agents to be roads that promote melting. A winter storm can cause activity in an urban area to slow to a crawl. Quick snow/ice removal and road treatments help the city get back to normal more quickly. Another weather maintenance is road repairs. Ice can be especially damaging to roads. The damage can occur when water gets into cracks, freezes, then expands. The expansion breaks the road even more and vehicles driving over the icy cracks damages them even more. Once the ice melts, cracks and pot holes are left behind. Road crews then need to come in and fill and seal the cracks. Untreated cracks and pot holes can damage tires and vehicles. Urban resources dedicated to road repairs are important to maintaining and safe and quick flow of traffic. Other necessary urban weather maintenance needs include: 1) restoring power from storm damage and lightning strikes 2) keeping the public advised of threatening weather 3) maintaining plants, flowers, trees and vegetation within city public areas 4) having effective first responders in cases of weather emergencies, having contingency plans for particular weather emergencies 5) maintaining weather warning systems such as sirens 6) having clean and effective storm drainage systems 7) effective air quality policies 8) help for people and pets that are exposed to extreme heat or extreme cold 9) repairing damage caused by storms 10) adequate insurance and staff to deal with severe weather situations |