Road Crews Preparing For Season's 1st Accumulating Snow

By: KDKA-TV's Bryant Reed and Mary Ours

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Crews are busy preparing for the measurable snowfall for the season after we've seen a relatively warm winter.

The National Weather Service has updated their data overnight on incoming snow and our area is expected to see ice and snow in the coming days.

Much of Thursday will be dry until snow arrives. Areas east and ridges like Seven Springs could pick up 2 to 4 inches of snow, KDKA Meteorologist Mary Ours says, and the rest of us will get about an inch overnight Thursday into Friday morning.

PennDOT says they're ready to tackle any winter weather we may get. To this point, PennDOT says they've been able to save much of their salt reserves, thanks to a warm December.

The Allegheny County manager for PennDOT says their drivers have made their practice runs and are ready to go.

"We're ready to go. Our equipment is up and running. We've done our dry runs. We've got our operators ready for whatever comes to them," Acting Allegheny County PennDOT Manager Ben DeVore said.

And in Cranberry Township, public works trucks are getting a head start. They're spraying a pre-treatment of brine, which can melt snow before it has a chance to stick on the road and keep away that notorious black ice.

WATCH: KDKA Meteorologist Mary Ours reports

"Right now, there is no salt on the road because we have not been out this year, so we really want to get that layer of salt down. The brine is a liquid mixture, so it adheres to the road and the liquid evaporates then the salt starts reacting. As soon as it starts snowing, it'll start melting even before our crews get out there," said Cranberry Township Public Safety Director Kelly Maurer.

Crews have spread out across 16 different routes in Cranberry. Maurer says with new technology, they're able to see the temperature of the roads and know what areas to hit the hardest.

"We mainly do only township roads and we start with more populated roads and work our way down. We do hit residential roads that may have steeper grades or known curves, but mainly we focus on more heavily trafficked parts of the township," she said.

Maurer says because of the lack of winter weather so far, they haven't used as much chemicals as they originally thought they would have to. She says they're the main manufacturing station of salt and brine in the area and have enough to help out neighboring municipalities should they need it.

With temperatures below freezing, crews are also prepared to go back out Friday evening and Saturday if the roads are still icy.

Allegheny County Public Works is responsible for ice and snow removal on more than 360 miles of roadway and it usually takes each driver a couple of hours to complete their routes. The last couple of months they've been looking for more drivers but public works leaders say they're confident in the staff they have as they head into winter.

Experts say if you see salt trucks on the road, make sure to give them some extra space.

Around 40% of all accidents on the road take place during severe weather situations, so here are some driving tips: make sure to clean your car off completely before you hit the roads, accelerate and brake slowly and drive a little slower.

According to some studies, Pennsylvania is the 5th most dangerous state for winter driving.