# Help billing Blizzard Clause



## cretebaby (Aug 23, 2008)

on Friday we got about 12" that fell rather falt

on Sat we got about 1" with high winds that turned out to be a major PITA

So which one do i bill the blizard clause on?


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## MileHigh (Nov 6, 2007)

13 inches and wind with drifts sound like a blizzard to me.

I would bill it with the foot of snow on fri.


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

Neither.It was only a foot of snow.It may of taken you a little longer but I wouldn't consider it a Blizzard.


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## cretebaby (Aug 23, 2008)

bladescape2;691939 said:


> 13 inches and wind with drifts sound like a blizzard to me.
> 
> I would bill it with the foot of snow on fri.


it was 2 different storms/events


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## cretebaby (Aug 23, 2008)

grandview;691955 said:


> Neither.It was only a foot of snow.It may of taken you a little longer but I wouldn't consider it a Blizzard.


seems that averyone has blizzard clauses that start at 12" so i guess i was wondering how they would bill it


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## grandview (Oct 9, 2005)

I finally saw our snow totals for last weekend. Granted I'm seasonal so I don't have any Blizzard clauses and just plow it. We ended up with 25 inches for that weekend and 50 mph winds .


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## KAG (Jul 19, 2007)

As stolen from Wikipedia:

In the United States, the National Weather Service defines a blizzard as sustained 35 mph (56 km/h) winds which lead to blowing snow and cause visibilities of ¼ mile or less, lasting for at least 3 hours. Temperature is not taken into consideration when issuing a blizzard warning, but the nature of these storms is such that cold air is often present when the other criteria are met

When there are blizzard conditions but no snow falling, meteorologists call this a ground blizzard because all the snow is already present at the surface of the earth and is simply being blown by high winds. Ground blizzards require large expanses of open and relatively flat land with a sufficient amount of accumulated and loosely packed, powdery snow to be blown around.

Sounds like you had one heavy snow fall event then the next day you had a blizzard.


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## big acres (Nov 8, 2007)

KAG;692072 said:


> As stolen from Wikipedia:
> 
> In the United States, the National Weather Service defines a blizzard as sustained 35 mph (56 km/h) winds which lead to blowing snow and cause visibilities of ¼ mile or less, lasting for at least 3 hours. Temperature is not taken into consideration when issuing a blizzard warning, but the nature of these storms is such that cold air is often present when the other criteria are met
> 
> ...


I reviewed a half-dozen of my competitor's contracts today.

In our market, a Blizzard Clause usually relates to the wiki definition and allows us to pull our crews off the road for as long as the MnDot pulls theirs. Even if it is not in your contract, it is usually all over the news and with that you have leverage. Most managers won't even argue it... we've always worked staight through -plowing snow even with the blade all the way up.

There is a seperate clause related to what amount of accumulation during a single event triggers a transition from seasonal/monthly to t&m rates.


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## snowman55 (Nov 20, 2007)

what is your clause? is it for deadline extension or increased pay or both? I find it is often more profitable to bill for numerous services (plowed 4 times at 3 " ) than try to bill for 12" + blizzard pay. I would be embarassed (and probably fired) if my customers had 12" of snow on their lots.

we plow thru the storm with the goal of never plowing more than 4" at a time. we are expecting 3-6" tonight and I"ll have trucks on the road before it even starts.

Plow early and often! Bill early and often!


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## eshskis (Dec 1, 2008)

What Grandview said......in post #3


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## big acres (Nov 8, 2007)

eshskis;695031 said:


> What Grandview said......in post #3


NY & CO are a long way from Iowa guys -different market, pricing, contract standards.


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## WINTER 3 (Aug 7, 2000)

You have discussed this with the clients before the season started right? A blizzard / fast heavy snow clause is a good idea to have but if you don't tell the customers about it you may loose customers or be waiting to get payed. Just my 2 cents. We have gotten a few 12 inch snows this year. My customers know they will be plowed 2 times. Never had a problem or a complaint


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## SilkKnitter (Apr 2, 2008)

cretebaby;691738 said:


> on Friday we got about 12" that fell rather falt
> 
> on Sat we got about 1" with high winds that turned out to be a major PITA
> 
> So which one do i bill the blizard clause on?


I would charge both days/plowing/snowfall or how ever long it took you to clean up that mess. What EXACTLY does your clause state? Do you have signed CONTRACTS or just a verbel contract? How well will a verbal contract in you state hold up?

Those are the kind of question you need to ask yourself FIRST. Then make a decision and stick with it. (be it good or bad)


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## duramaxblade (Feb 12, 2008)

I think SILKKNITTER has the right idea. If it was blizzard like conditions bill them for all the equipment and time you had out there for both days. If they ask why so much time and money for an inch, then call it a blizzard. LOL, and remember what WIKI calls a blizzard. If it was really a blizzard when it snowed an inch then use that day. It going to be a lot harder to justify all that money for an inch (that's how they will look at it), so better to pull out the blizzard clause then. Don't call the day before when it snowed 12" a blizzard if the bill for one inch is close to the bill for 12". Does any of this make sense?


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