Workers in Lackawanna County braved grueling, around-the-clock hours to clear snow amid challenging conditions Sunday through Monday.

LACKAWANNA COUNTY, Pa. — If you stepped outside today, you probably heard it: shovels scraping, snowplows roaring, and maybe even some kids playing in the snow.

Workers in downtown Scranton worked all day Monday to clear roads, and the same was true across Lackawanna County.

Alicen Harper of Clarks Summit says, “We’re pretty lucky that Clarks Summit takes really good care of the roads for the most part, so everything was plowed, salted. Really just little things, side roads, intersections that were a little bit harder to traverse.”

All that plowing and salting happens in the dark. Workers like John Dobrowski from NEPA Grassguys have been working for more than 30 hours straight during the storm to try and keep the roads and sidewalks clear. “It’s tough. You got to build yourself up for it, you know?”

Dobrowski has one protip for workers like him to prep for storms like this. “Carbs! You got to eat good. Some pasta the night before, and a lot of water. That’s what I tell my guys, lots of water.”

David Jensen from Clarks Summit was also a part of the cleanup efforts, working Sunday into Monday, “Salt doesn’t work very well when it’s this cold, so like the road may not look like it has been touched a lot, but it’s just constantly going through and pushing it off, and hoping it melts a little bit and pushing it off so.”

When Jensen returned from the more than 24-hour workday, he was met by his kids and their friends playing in the snow-covered yard, but alongside a clean driveway. 

Which his wife, Andrea Jensen, spent all day Sunday and Monday morning clearing out, “He’s doing all that. I want to make sure the driveway stays clear for him. I was happy that it was more fluffy, not quite so heavy. That was a lot easier.”