The major problems to be overcome in the event of a severe snowstorm or blizzard are related to receiving animals and supplies, and having sufficient personnel get to the campus to care for animals. Other effects of snow storms are handled as indicated in Sections 4.1 - Air Handling Problems; 4.5 - Electrical Power Outage; 4.7 - Flood; 4.8 - Phone or Paging System Outage; 4.11 - Temperature Problems or 4.13 - Water Supply Interruption, which should be consulted.

1. Animal health checks: Animal health is checked by on-site personnel. If the AR is short-staffed, some individuals may be reassigned on an emergency basis to check animals in central, satellite, or investigator-operated facilities.
2. Food and water supplies: Several days’ supply of food is kept on hand at all times, so re-supply should be possible within a reasonable time. If stocks are running low before normal transportation is likely to be restored, supervisory personnel will decide on the most appropriate course of action. This may entail moving feed from one facility to another. If it is necessary to save animals' lives, feed may be obtained from the nearest source, including grocery or pet stores. Efforts should be made to keep animals on species-specific diets if possible.
3. Sanitation: Sanitation may be compromised by a lack of personnel. On-site personnel, under the direction of the Operations Manager, attempt to approximate normal sanitation schedules with available resources. Increasing cage change intervals, spot cleaning instead of whole-cage changes, changing bedding instead of cage changes, hand washing of some equipment, or deferring activities such as floor mopping may be required. Decisions must be made by the professionals on-site to perform sanitation activities which benefit the animals most if all activities are not possible due to unusual conditions.
4. Environmental support: It is not expected that the environment will be affected. If it is, see the appropriate section for handling the specific problem: 4.1 - Air Handling Problems; 4.5 - Electrical Power Outage; 4.7 - Flood; 4.8 - Phone or Paging System Outage; or 4.11 - Temperature Problems.
5. Personnel: Personnel are expected to make significant efforts to report to work. If staff shortages occur due to transportation problems or street blockage, available staff may be pressed into service to perform duties outside their normal job descriptions in order to provide for essential animal care needs. The Director/designee makes this decision.