Crews Prepping For First Snowfall Of 2014
By Jim Melwert and Jenn Bernstein
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CBS) -- The first snowfall of the new year is already on the way.
Preparations for the storm were continuing at PennDOT's maintenance center in Montgomery County, where crews have been prepping for this since New Year's Eve.
One concern for this storm is high winds, which could affect visibility by blowing the snow around.
"We are planning on dealing with some drifting issues, blowing snow, so the trucks will have to be out there constantly moving and pushing snow off the roads, and salting," said Senior County Maintenance Manager Howard Houseknecht.
PennDOT spokesman Brad Rudolph says be patient around the plow and salt trucks.
"They have enough going on," he warns. "They have computers in their cabs, monitoring how much salt they're spreading; they have a big plow; they have the road conditions to deal with just like everyone else. It's quite a challenge. They have a lot of obstacles, and we ask people to give them room to do their jobs."
Rudolph says that if conditions are bad, consider if you really need to be out on the roads at all.
We've already seen some messy weather so far this season.
It's hard to forget the Eagles game on December 8th, where players fought their way through several inches of snow.
That Sunday storm also snarled traffic on area highways.
With the roads already pre-treated for this next round of winter, PennDOT is staying ahead of the storm.
"Now our crews are just waiting for snow fall and waiting to get out there and make these roads passable," said Rudolph.
PennDOT has 100,000 tons of salt ready to go.
More than 400 of plows and salt spreaders will also be stationed throughout the region.