Ongoing storm rule

What is the ongoing storm rule?

The ongoing storm rule generally provides that a property owner is not required to clear snow or ice while a winter storm is actively still in progress, recognizing that continuous clearing during active precipitation would be impractical and largely futile.

Under this principle, the owner's specific obligation to clear the hazard generally begins only after the storm has genuinely ended, within a reasonable period afterward.

This rule directly affects the constructive notice analysis in a winter fall case, since it shifts precisely when the owner's specific duty to act actually began.

Understanding exactly when a storm genuinely ended, as opposed to when precipitation merely paused briefly, often becomes a genuinely central factual dispute in these particular cases.

What factors determine whether this rule actually applies to a specific situation?

Courts examine several considerations in determining whether a storm was genuinely still ongoing at the relevant time.

• Weather records establishing precisely when precipitation actually started and stopped
• Whether any pause in precipitation was genuinely temporary or represented the storm's actual conclusion
• The specific reasonable period afterward within which clearing is genuinely expected
• Whether the owner undertook any partial clearing efforts during the storm itself
• The specific type and intensity of the weather event actually involved

Why does establishing the storm's exact timeline matter so significantly?

Because it directly determines whether the owner's clearing obligation had genuinely begun at the specific time of your fall, which is central to the overall premises liability analysis.

A fall occurring while snow was still actively falling generally falls within this protective rule, while one occurring hours after the storm's genuine conclusion generally does not.

This is precisely why obtaining official weather records for the specific date and location matters so significantly in any winter weather related fall case.

How is a claim involving winter weather conditions actually built?

Through official weather service records establishing the precise timeline of precipitation, allowing a clear comparison against the exact time of your specific fall.

Through evidence regarding what the property owner actually did, or failed to do, within the reasonable period following the storm's genuine conclusion.

Photographs and any available video showing the specific condition present at the time of your fall provide direct evidence of what hazard actually existed at that particular moment.

Common questions

Does this rule mean a property owner never has to clear snow at all?

No. It means the owner's specific obligation generally begins only after the storm has genuinely ended, within a reasonable period afterward, rather than requiring continuous clearing during active precipitation.

What if I fell during a brief pause in the snowfall?

This becomes a genuinely contested factual question, since courts distinguish between a truly temporary pause and the storm's actual genuine conclusion, based on the specific weather pattern involved.

How long after a storm ends must the owner actually clear the hazard?

Within a reasonable period, though what specifically counts as reasonable depends on the circumstances, including the storm's severity and the specific type of property involved.