A round of wintry weather could hit East Tennessee as soon as next week, with the possibility of snow in the forecast.
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Department of Transportation is preparing for a possible weather event as Friday approaches. TDOT said the crew is always ready to go and ready to rotate if the weather changes.
They are prepared for weather events throughout the year.
“It might be the middle of July and it's 90 degrees outside, and we're still shipping salt into our garages,” said Mark Nagy, a TDOT spokesman.
Before ice or snow occurs, crews will pre-treat roads and then treat them as needed during the snowfall, he said. To treat roads, TDOT uses a salt mixture to prevent freezing. However, preparations for weather events vary depending on their type.
If there is rain in the forecast before a winter weather event, that changes preparations.
““We typically don't do a lot of pretreatment because that material might wash off the road,” Nagy said.
He also said in icy conditions and during winter weather events – no one should be on the roads unless they have to drive somewhere. Anyone who needs to be on the road should drive carefully because road treatments can only do so much.
“Ice is the real danger zone for us,” Nagy said. “As temperatures drop, especially below 20 degrees, it limits the effectiveness of our supplies.”
