Blog: Snow Removal from Streets and Space

Snow and ice eventually disappear. Even when temperatures don’t go above freezing, snowbanks shrink as frozen water turns from a solid directly to a gas. When afternoons warm, accumulated snow around the fence lines melts. But modern life moves too fast for natural solutions to provide viable outcomes.  

In the days following a winter storm this season that left more than a foot of snow in parts of New York City, the municipality put eight snow melters into operation. Each machine is capable of melting up to 120 tons of snow per hour. This year is the first time the “snow hot tubs”—using flame burners and hot water—have been used since 2021. 

Railway snow removal

Safety is a crucial factor for city leadership that needs to clear the streets of traffic-stopping snow and ice. When it comes to railways, the concern is the same. In areas of the country where severe winter is a given, slippery rails, blocked tracks, frozen switches, impaired signaling, and restricted visibility disrupt trains and the passengers and cargo they carry. 

In “Advancing Railway Resilience: Evaluation of Snow and Ice Removal Technologies in Severe Winter Climates,” researchers evaluate the methods and equipment used for snow removal. The study looked at mechanical, thermal, and chemical tools and techniques and covered preventive measures that include energy-intensive thermal systems (heated tracks and infrared heaters). While chemical de-icing agents work during small weather events, tried-and-true snow removal usually means mechanical rotary blowers and wedge plows. But even this equipment has limits in severe weather. 

Recent innovations include hybrid systems, automation, and artificial intelligence (AI) that help determine what and when the tools are deployed. In “Numerical simulation of influencing factors and optimization design for conduction-gravity ice melting systems in high-speed trains,” researchers focus on the optimization of key heat transfer components—column ribs. 

“Using numerical simulation, the combined effects of inlet air velocity, temperature, column rib number, shape, and arrangement on the conduction-gravity ice melting process were analyzed, and a novel local optimization strategy employing gradually reduced rib spacing was proposed,” the study reported. Other emerging methods include eco-friendly de-icing agents, hydrophobic coatings, and AI-powered predictive analytics.

Airports and ice

Warm weather is part of the strategy that engineers use to combat the accumulation of snow. Airports pile up the stuff following guidelines set up by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA dictates how close the piles can be to runways and even how high they can be stacked. It even defines what snow is: “a porous, permeable aggregate of ice grains, which can be predominantly single crystals or close groupings of several crystals.”


Snow melters, which are essentially heated whirlpools fueled by natural gas, been part of airport operations for decades. At the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport (MSP), one storm can go on for days and dump close to 30 inches of snow on the runways. The airport’s monstrous in-ground units are capable of melting up to 120 tons of snow per hour and portable units melt 60 tons of snow per hour,  explained Paul Sichko, MSP’s assistant director of operations.

Despite being one of the nation’s busiest airports, Boston Logan International Airport is the second smallest among the top 20 major U.S. airports. Engineers at this airport do not have the “luxury of space” as they clear 49 lane miles of runway, 114 lane miles of taxiways, 19 miles of public roadway, and 150 acres of aircraft parking ramp. More than 400 illuminated signs need to be visible to pilots as well as 8,000 embedded lights affixed to raised posts.

And the machines are not getting any newer. Schmidt Equipment, a John Deere construction dealer headquartered in North Oxford, Mass., replaced the engines of two Trecan snow melters with John Deere PowerTech PVX 6.8L engines.  Engineers installed the new engines on stands mounted to the platform of the snow melters, developed an enclosure for the wiring, and mounted a Murphy switch.

The work of snow removal in aviation is so valued that high performance is awarded. The Balchen/Post Award is presented each year in three categories of airports: commercial, general aviation, and military. The most recent award—the 2024-2025 honor—went to the Denver International Airport in the large commercial category, with Boston Logan gaining the honorable mention. 

Moving through ice

The Northern Sea Route, which runs along Russia’s Arctic coast, has become a focal point of commercial and strategic interest. In 2024, Rosatom reported 37.9 million tons of cargo transited along the route, including 92 full transit voyages. In comparison, the Northwest Passage through Canada remains less trafficked.

Because Alaska is a state of the U.S., America is an “Arctic nation.” But its capabilities in these kinds of environments remain limited. The United States Coast Guard currently fields the icebreakers USCGC Polar Star (heavy) and USCGC Healy (medium), and in August 2025 the new USCGC Storis was added—the first icebreaking addition in 25 years. Still delayed is the Polar Security Cutter program, with delivery not expected until 2030. 

The U.S. also lacks deep-draft Arctic ports. To remedy this, the Port of Nome deepening project launched in 2024 aims to create a –40 foot basin to support fuel, logistics, and search and rescue operations on Alaska’s western coast. Maritime domain awareness (MDA) is another critical gap. The 2024 DoD Arctic Strategy emphasizes enhancing persistent sensing from “space to seabed,” but radar, communications, and undersea sensor coverage remain fragmented. 

Meanwhile, maritime activity in polar waters has been on the rise. But the real ability of low- and non-ice strengthened ships (NISS) to manage in ice-infested regions is where modeling and simulation come in. Traditionally these projects have “focused on scenarios relevant to the design and classification of ships purpose built for navigation in ice, with assumptions that may not be suitable for the evaluation of ice loads on NISS,” researchers wrote. 

Icy space

While scientists use models to figure out what makes up “ice” on distant planets, engineers on Earth need to deal with the very real problem of ice buildup on rockets. When filling Starship with cryogenic propellants like liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid methane (LCH4), SpaceX engineers see temperatures dropping to -253 °C (-423 °F) for LOX and around -161 °C (-258 °F) for LCH4. This extreme cold has the potential of presenting a prelaunch hazard that includes ice buildup on Starship’s external surface. 

To avoid the amount of ice that could lead to interference with structural integrity, valves, or other critical components, engineers currently use a process called “rapid venting.” This process expels the gaseous nitrogen created when LOX and LCH4 enter the rocket. “As the propellants warm up slightly during loading, the resulting vapor is vented off to help reduce condensation on the exterior. This approach serves a dual purpose: it minimizes pressure surges in the fuel tanks and helps keep the surface temperature above freezing, reducing the likelihood of ice formation,” Chimniii reported. 

SpaceX also has designed the Starship with enhanced drainage systems that allow melted ice to flow away from critical areas. The engineers also rely on sensors that monitor temperature and humidity levels around the Starship. These sensors provide real-time data to the control team, allowing for immediate adjustments if conditions become unfavorable for ice formation. 

Cathy Cecere is membership content program manager.