Syracuse, N.Y. -- A winter storm is barreling toward Syracuse and will gradually make conditions hazardous throughout the day here. Like every big winter storm, that means Syracuse University Vice President and Chief Facilities Officer Pete Sala and his staff will labor to keep the snow off the bubbled roof.

The Syracuse men’s basketball team plays Pittsburgh today at 2 p.m. Both teams are in the building and the game will take place as scheduled. I talked with Sala today about what kind of preparations he’s made, especially since temperatures are expected to dip below zero. Sala said he has been consulting several times a day with meteorologist Wayne Mahar, who is part of SU’s emergency management team.

The conversation with Sala, who has been keeping the dome roof free of snow for 38 years:

So what’s generally happening to deal with the storm here in the building?

Pete Sala: “I’ve got about 32 people here. Yesterday, we pulled up all four hoses on the dome roof. We’ve had the water running for those since yesterday afternoon. I got here very early this morning and have been heating for two days to get the building where we needed it to be."

How warm is it in here right now?

Sala: "74. The thing I worry about for this game is you gotta keep it comfortable for the fans, but I don’t want to lose all the heat on the exits. So we’re going to try to have a soft exit and not open the (emergency) doors. Then we’re going to build the heat up. My goal is to get my team up there and work as late as I can to beat that first half of the storm. That’s what our goal is -- to try to get through midnight, 1 o’clock. Because although we’re hearing 10 o’clock is when the bulk of it will kick in, (we’ll try to) stay ahead while my staff is in good shape up until midnight or 1. Then we’ll regroup and maybe we’ll work a second shift and go up and finish.”

What you say “go up,” what does that entail?

Pete Sala: " We’re going to have to go up on the roof itself. We’ve got four of our firehouses that we sent up on our roof to wash. Because it is so cold, the heat won’t keep up. The thing we have going for us is the water content (of the snow) is very, very low. The National Weather Service told us this morning that in the 16 (expected) inches of snow, there’s only an inch of water, which is really good."

Dome director Pete Sala checks the weather radar to assess the incoming winter storm before Syracuse plays Pittsburgh on Jan. 19, 2019.

Is some of it lake effect?

Sala: “This is all storm related. Tomorrow morning, mid-morning the lake effect will kick in. That’s not horrible, but it’ll add to the total. So we’ll stay on it.”

So there’s no danger of anything happening during the game?

Sala: “No. There’s nothing on the roof right now. It’s warm. When you sit down in your seat in the dome and you look up and can see there’s no shadows on the fabric, we’re in good shape. And we’re in really good shape. You know how I can tell? Here’s the trick:”

Sala opens one of several windows on his computer to reveal a close-up of the dome roof. Small patches of wet snow have already slid from the fabric into 3-foot deep gutters that ring the roof. If Sala can see from those cameras the snow or water collecting in those gutters “I know I’m in good shape.”

There’s been a water main break in the City of Syracuse. Does that effect anything you guys do here today?

Sala: “Fortunately, we’re fed off the main a different way ... and we’re back-fed two ways. But what happened is this (SU) residence hall lost water because they had to shut a value off here to isolate over there. The problem is Upstate doesn’t have water. So we’re dealing with that as well right now. I’m trying to help Upstate.”

Because it’s going to be so cold, I’m curious about something: Is the roof is warm enough so the water you’re hosing up there won’t freeze?

Sala: “No, it won’t freeze. The water is 120 degrees. We heat it right before it goes up.”