Cole County prepares for winter weather
JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (KMIZ)
The ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather team is tracking a potential mid-week winter storm that could bring accumulating snow throughout much of the region between Tuesday night and Wednesday.
Jefferson City and Cole Cole County Public Works have both spent time making sure their equipment and employees are aware of what to expect with the winter weather ahead.
In Cole County, there are 23 plows in service. They range from pickup trucks with plows to bigger salt trucks meant to clear the main roads.
"We have 470 miles of road, and we try to prioritize all our paved roads first, which we have right at 330 miles of paved," Cole County road supervisor Bryan Boyce said. "So, evenly distributing 23 trucks gets us through a route in a 12 hour shift several times."
According to Boyce, lettered roads are taken care of by the Missouri Department of Transportation, not by Cole County Public Works. Boyce is hopeful that residents will be considerate of the people operating plows.
"If you can park in your driveway, please park in the driveway," Boyce said. "It makes it really difficult for our plow trucks to navigate through the street if cars are parked out there."
Russel Rackers, Jefferson City street manager, has equipment ready for the winter storm. According to Rackers, crews have done quality checks on their equipment to make sure everything is in working order.
"They've all gone through their trucks to make sure they're all ready to go and to make sure nothing's broken from the last time we've had a snow event," Rackers said.
All the drivers have already done a dry run through their routes, looking for anything that may be an obstacles whether that may be a construction site or steel plates in the ground.
25% of the snowplow drivers working for Jefferson City's Public Works department are new. They have been trained but this would be their first snowplowing experience.
This is important to understand and factor in when driving along with them. It is important to be patient and leave plenty of room for snowplow operators to do their job.
According to a report from the National Weather Service, rain in the area is likely before 9 p.m. Tuesday, then rain and snow between 9 p.m. Tuesday night carrying into roughly 3 a.m. Wednesday.
The snow has the potential to be heavy at certain points, with accumulation averaging between two and four inches.
There is a low of 31 degrees.
The places facing the most impact for the coming weather is near the Lake of the Ozarks and the I-44 corridor.
Amounts may shift, but a range between 1-3 inches is expected for areas along and north of Highway 50, 3-5 inches for areas south of Highway 50 including the Lake of the Ozarks, and 5 or more inches along and south of the I-44 corridor.
To get the latest forecast information, make sure to download the ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather App. Closings and delays can be found online and on the ABC 17 News App.
