Tuesday in the Royal City saw a lot of people inconvenienced by the unexpected snowfall which started in the early morning hours.

According to Jon McDonald, the city's engineering manager, the city had staff on roads overnight pre-salting major streets in anticipation of the snow coming.

"This was an expected snowfall, but the timing of it is what made it a challenge," said McDonald. "We didn't expect it to hit just before rush hour and that's what made it difficult. We concentrate on areas where people want to be, meaning bus routes, schools and major roads. We can't be everywhere, but we're trying our best."

McDonald said the city has eight trucks and most of them were on the road by just after 4:30 a.m. In addition, McDonald's crews closed down four of the biggest hills because the salting trucks couldn't even navigate them.

"We've closed Merivale, Queens, Fourth Avenue and Third Avenue," said McDonald, who added the Tuesday afternoon rush hour doesn't look promising.

"It's supposed to be worse, so what we're doing is sending some people home to get some rest because we'll be needing them to do a 12-hour shift tonight," said McDonald. "We want them to get a good eight hours off before they get back out there."

www.twitter.com/AlfieLau