Snow Plows for the Port City: Mobile Council Approves $73,372 Purchase of Four Truck-Mounted Plows

Update (Oct. 1, 2026): The Mobile City Council approved the $73,372.36 purchase of four snow plow attachments at its regular meeting on Tuesday, Sept. 29, following discussion at that day’s pre-meeting work session. Earlier reports had indicated the vote might not come until the following week. Details of the approval are in the new section at the end of this article.

Update, Oct. 7, 2026: Mobile Mayor Spiro Cheriogotis said the four plow attachments will be stored in a city warehouse and could be shared with nearby communities if needed. He pointed to forecasts of a cold, wet winter as a reason to be ready.

Latest developments: Mayor explains the snowplow purchase

Cheriogotis, who sponsored the resolution, said the city is preparing for a possibility it hopes it will rarely face.

Cheriogotis said they are a southern city that doesn’t experience a lot of snow, and if the Farmers’ Almanac is right about a very cold and wet winter, they want to be ready.

The Farmers’ Almanac is a long-running annual publication that issues long-range seasonal weather outlooks. Its predictions are not official forecasts. The National Weather Service and its Climate Prediction Center are the official sources for seasonal outlooks, and even a wetter-than-normal winter does not mean snow is likely on the central Gulf Coast.

During the January 2025 storm, some areas along the Gulf Coast recorded more than 8 inches of snow, and the city had no plows to help clear its roads.

The mayor said he hopes they don’t have to use the snowplows often and doubts they will, adding that they want to make sure people get back to their daily lives as soon as possible.

He added that when the snow hits, you’ll wish you had a snowplow, so they’re going to address that need before it happens.

Built to sit on the shelf

Cheriogotis called the attachments a good investment because they can be stored for years without losing value.

He said they don’t spoil because they’re not produce, so they can sit comfortably in the warehouse and remain usable for many years.

Help for neighboring communities

The plows will mainly be used on Mobile streets, but the mayor said they could also be shared with nearby communities if needed. That echoes a suggestion Councilman Ben Reynolds made before the vote, when he urged the city to look at sharing snow equipment with other governments during extreme weather.

Update (Sept. 28, 2026): Mobile’s Public Services director explained Monday why the city wants the four truck-mounted plows, pointing to the 7.5 inches of snow recorded at Mobile Regional Airport in January 2025 and the millions of dollars in lost productivity that followed. Details are in the section near the end of this article.

MOBILE, Ala. — Snow plows are not something most people associate with the Port City, where summer heat can linger into October and winter often passes without a single flake. But when the Mobile City Council meets Tuesday, Sept. 29, members are scheduled to consider buying four of them.

A resolution on the council’s agenda would approve a purchase order with Fleet Service and Equipment Co. Inc. for four SnowDogg HD municipal snow plows, made by Buyers Products, for the city’s Public Services department. The contract amount is listed at $73,372.36, and the money would come from the city’s general fund. The resolution is sponsored by Mayor Spiro Cheriogotis.

A city spokesperson said the plows are attachments designed to be mounted on the front of large dump trucks the city already operates, rather than stand-alone vehicles.

The proposal at a glance

• What: Four SnowDogg HD municipal snow plow attachments
• For: City of Mobile Public Services
• Vendor: Fleet Service and Equipment Co. Inc.
• Cost: $73,372.36
• Funding source: General fund
• Sponsor: Mayor Spiro Cheriogotis
• Status: Approved by the Mobile City Council on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026

Why a Gulf Coast city is thinking about snow

For many longtime residents, the request will bring back memories of January 2025, when a rare and powerful winter storm swept across the northern Gulf Coast. Snow blanketed Mobile, Baldwin County and the Florida Panhandle, and several communities along the coast recorded some of the heaviest snowfall in their history. Interstates, bridges and major roadways were shut down, schools and businesses closed for days, and many residents woke to scenes that looked more like the Midwest than the Deep South.

Cities along the coast were not built with that kind of weather in mind. Local governments here generally do not keep fleets of plows, salt spreaders or large stockpiles of de-icing material the way northern cities do, because the need arises so rarely. When a storm like that does hit, crews are left to work with whatever equipment they have, which can slow the effort to reopen roads, bridges and emergency routes.

The city has not publicly tied the proposed purchase to any single storm, and the resolution itself does not spell out how the plows will be deployed. But the general idea behind buying attachments rather than dedicated plow trucks is practical: the city can use dump trucks it already owns for everyday work throughout the year, then mount the plow blades when winter weather threatens. The approach keeps the upfront cost relatively low and avoids having specialized vehicles sitting idle for years at a time.

What the equipment is

SnowDogg is a line of snow plows manufactured by Buyers Products, an Ohio-based company that makes truck equipment and accessories. Its heavy-duty municipal plows are designed to be mounted on larger trucks used by public works departments, and are built to push snow and slush off streets and highways.

Because the plows mount on existing trucks, they can be stored until needed and installed ahead of a forecasted storm. That kind of flexibility is especially useful for a city where serious snow is possible but uncommon, and where the same trucks are needed for hauling debris, supporting drainage work and other Public Services duties the rest of the year.

Beyond snow: Other winter hazards

While measurable snow is rare in Mobile, winter weather along the Gulf Coast often arrives in the form of sleet and freezing rain, which can glaze bridges, overpasses and elevated roadways with a thin layer of ice. In a region where drivers rarely encounter those conditions, even a small amount of ice can lead to crashes and long closures.

Mobile is especially exposed because of its bridges and elevated roads. The Interstate 10 Bayway, the Cochrane-Africatown USA Bridge and numerous overpasses around the city carry heavy daily traffic, and bridge decks tend to freeze before other road surfaces. Keeping key routes open, including roads leading to hospitals, fire stations and police precincts, is one of the most important jobs any city has during severe weather.

Plow blades can help clear slush and accumulated ice pellets, which can speed the reopening of roads once temperatures begin to rise. They are one tool among many that cities use alongside sand, salt and brine, road closures and public warnings.

How the council process works

The resolution is expected to be introduced at the council’s Tuesday meeting. Mobile City Council meetings are held at Government Plaza, 205 Government St., and are open to the public. Residents who want to follow the discussion can attend in person or watch the meeting online through the city’s streaming services.

Purchase orders like this one are a routine part of the council’s work. The council regularly approves contracts for vehicles, equipment, supplies and services for city departments, and many of them pass with little debate. However, because snow plows are an unusual purchase for a coastal city, the item may draw questions from council members or residents about how often the equipment is likely to be used and whether it represents a good use of general fund dollars.

Supporters of such purchases generally argue that the cost of being unprepared can be far higher than the cost of the equipment itself. When roads are closed for days, businesses lose revenue, workers miss paychecks, and emergency responders face delays. Skeptics of similar purchases in other Southern cities have questioned whether the money might be better spent on more frequent needs, such as drainage, paving and hurricane preparation.

Part of a broader emergency preparedness picture

Mobile’s emergency planning has historically centered on hurricanes, tropical storms and flooding, which remain by far the most common and costly weather threats on the Gulf Coast. The city and Mobile County maintain extensive plans for evacuations, debris removal and flood response, and Public Services crews play a central role in cleanup after major storms.

Winter weather planning is a newer and smaller part of that picture. After the January 2025 storm, communities throughout the region reviewed how they responded and what equipment they had on hand. The proposed purchase suggests Mobile is adding at least some winter-specific capability to its toolbox, even if the plows spend most of their lives in storage.

Mayor Cheriogotis, who took office last year, has sponsored a number of resolutions related to city operations and equipment since his administration began. This one would place four new pieces of equipment under the Public Services department, which is responsible for many of the city’s day-to-day infrastructure services.

What residents can expect

If the council approves the purchase, the city would issue the purchase order to Fleet Service and Equipment Co. Inc., and the plows would be delivered and assigned to Public Services. The city has not said where the equipment will be stored or how many trucks will be outfitted to carry the blades.

For most Mobile residents, the plows will likely be out of sight and out of mind. If they are needed, it will be because the region is facing the kind of unusual winter weather that tends to bring life to a standstill along the Gulf Coast. In that event, having equipment ready to clear key roads could help emergency vehicles move more quickly and help the city get back to normal sooner.

How to weigh in

Residents who want to share their views on the proposed purchase can contact their district council member or attend Tuesday’s meeting. Council agendas are posted in advance on the City of Mobile’s website, along with information on how to watch meetings and how the public comment process works.

Whether or not the plows ever see snow, the proposal reflects a lesson many Gulf Coast communities learned in recent years: weather that seems impossible here is not always impossible, and being ready for the rare event can matter as much as preparing for the common ones.

Public Services director: ‘Better to have an option’

Matt Anderson, the city of Mobile’s director of Public Services, said Monday that the $73,372.36 purchase is about giving crews a tool they did not have the last time winter weather shut the city down. That January 2025 storm left roads icy and kept many residents from traveling for days, and Mobile Regional Airport recorded 7.5 inches of snow, setting a new snowfall record for the city.

Anderson said it’s better to have an option to solve the problem than to be faced with a problem with no solution.

The four plow blades would attach to the front of existing Public Services dump trucks when needed, allowing crews to push snow, sleet or freezing rain off priority roadways. Anderson said the city’s winter-weather response routes are already mapped out.

Anderson said they’re specifically to get rid of snow, and he thinks they could be used for freezing rain, noting you wouldn’t want a situation like in ’25 where snow sat for days turning into ice.

Built to be stored and reused

The city says the blades can be removed and stored between events, so the investment is not a one-time expense tied to a single storm. When they are not needed, the dump trucks go back to their normal year-round work.

A wetter winter is not a snow forecast

City officials also pointed to the potential for a wetter-than-normal winter season as another reason to be prepared. However, wetter conditions alone do not mean snow is expected. Temperatures would still need to fall low enough for snow, sleet or freezing rain to form, which remains rare on the central Gulf Coast.

The cost of doing nothing

Anderson framed the purchase as insurance against a far larger economic hit. Widespread road closures during the 2025 storm kept people from getting to work and, in some cases, to hospitals.

Anderson said the amount of lost productivity during the last major snow event was probably in the millions of dollars, and they’re not trying to repeat that situation.

The City Council took up the purchase at its Tuesday meeting.

Council discussion: ‘When you need it, who’s got it?’

When the proposal reached the council on Tuesday, Sept. 29, members appeared receptive to spending $73,372 on the four plow attachments, and the council went on to approve the purchase order that day.

Councilman Cory Penn said he knows it’s hard to think about snow in Mobile, but in the past 12 years they’ve experienced challenging moments and need to be prepared.

Council members acknowledged hearing pushback from constituents about spending money on snow equipment in a city where hurricanes, flooding and severe thunderstorms are far more common threats. One member said the topic had even led to a “spirited discussion” with his wife.

Members also asked whether the plows could be put to use the rest of the year. City officials said the answer was largely no, aside from perhaps serving as a novelty at an art festival or Mardi Gras event.

Councilman Ben Reynolds said it’s an odd expenditure for Mobile, Alabama, but the problem is when you need one, who has one? It’s not like you can call rental companies and ask them to send a snow plow.

Reynolds noted that the request is for attachments that mount on the front of trucks the city already owns, not for new vehicles.

Targeting black ice

James Barber, a senior adviser to Mayor Spiro Cheriogotis, said the city is not considering the large, dedicated municipal snowplow trucks common in northern cities, which can cost well over $200,000 each. Instead, he said, the attachments are meant to address one of the biggest problems Mobile faced during the January 2025 storm: black ice.

Barber said the sun works against them when there’s a lot of standing snow, as they found last year with record-breaking snow. When it melts and evening temperatures drop below freezing, they end up with black ice. They want the attachments to move snow out of the way before it freezes at night.

A record storm

The Jan. 21, 2025, storm dumped 7.5 inches of snow on Mobile, breaking a record that had stood since 1895. Roads across the region were nearly impassable for days.

Snow remains exceedingly rare in the city. Most snow or wintry-mix events over the past 15 years have produced less than 1.5 inches. Still, a few storms stand out. In January 2014, the same winter system that paralyzed much of Alabama during what became known as “Snowmageddon” brought more ice than snow to Mobile, leaving roads hazardous and travel disrupted for days. On Dec. 8, 2017, a rare storm brought about an inch of snow to Mobile, the earliest measurable snowfall on record for the city.

How other Gulf Coast governments handle snow

Few Gulf Coast cities keep snow-removal equipment, but there is precedent in coastal Alabama. The Alabama Department of Transportation’s Southwest Region bought five plow attachments after the 2014 ice storm. Ahead of the 2025 storm, ALDOT also brought in five additional plow-equipped trucks from Tuscaloosa and Tuscumbia to help clear interstates and state highways.

Many Southern cities instead rely on mutual aid, contractors or state transportation agencies. In 2025, New Orleans contracted with an Indiana-based company to bring 14 snowplows to clear major roads and bridges. Cities such as Tallahassee, Florida, and Charleston, South Carolina, generally depend on their state transportation departments, while airports often keep snow-removal equipment to meet federal requirements for keeping runways open.

Council approves the purchase

The council approved the $73,372.36 purchase order during its Tuesday, Sept. 29, meeting, clearing the way for the city to add four plow attachments to the Public Services fleet. The blades can be mounted on the front of a truck when snow or ice threatens, used to push the roadway clear and then removed and returned to storage.

During the pre-meeting work session, Anderson told council members the goal is to avoid a repeat of January 2025, when snow lingered on city streets long enough to harden.

Anderson said the issue is they are trying to prevent the situation they found themselves in in 2025 where the snow sat for three days and the bottom foot turned into solid ice, particularly downtown where parts did not see sunlight for continuous days.

The storm’s toll on the roads showed up in public safety calls as well. Mobile police responded to more than 180 weather-related calls for help, including stranded drivers and crashes, between Tuesday, Jan. 21, and Friday, Jan. 24, 2025, as the initial snowfall melted and refroze across the city.

‘At least we got them’

District 6 Councilman Josh Woods supported the purchase, saying several neighborhoods in his district were snowed in with no way out during what he described as the great snow of 2025. Four plows, he said, could have cleared those streets much faster.

Woods said he appreciates the forward thinking, adding that they might not even use the snow plows for 10 years, but at least they have them.

District 4 Councilman Ben Reynolds agreed, saying the city does not want to be caught unprepared and unable to clear snow and ice from its roads.

Reynolds said it’s an odd expenditure for Mobile, Alabama, but the truth is when you need it, who’s got it? It’s not like you can call the rental company and have them send a snow plow over. He added that if they denied the purchase and then had a big event, people would be mad at them asking where the snow plows are.

Reynolds also suggested the city look into arrangements with other cities that own snow equipment and might be willing to share it during extreme weather, an approach many Southern governments already rely on through mutual aid.

What comes next

With the purchase approved, the city can issue the order to Fleet Service and Equipment Co. Inc. for the four SnowDogg HD attachments. Once delivered, the blades will be assigned to Public Services and kept in storage until winter weather calls for them, while the dump trucks that carry them continue their normal year-round work.

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