ST. LOUIS – There’s finally some snow in the forecast.
“We are setting up what we call our front-line trucks,” IDOT Operations Engineer Joseph Monroe said.
The Missouri Department of Transportation and Illinois Department of Transportation are preparing for the first flakes of the season after an usually warm Christmas Day in the bi-state area.
“I think I saw my phone and it was like 65 degrees,” St. Louis resident Joshua Buckman said.
Check FOX 2’s traffic map for real-time updates.
It’s the longest St. Louis’ has gone without any trace amounts of snow in more than 100 years.
“It seemed very unusual that we hadn’t had snow, and this is the latest we’ve ever had snow,” St. Louis resident Amy Hartweger said.
Drivers can expect a wintery mix coming into our region starting Wednesday morning. A forecast some drivers are looking forward to.
“It’s winter in Missouri and I would absolutely love to see snow,” Hartweger said.
However, some are enjoying these warmer temperatures.
“I’m not a big fan of snow, so I think this is awesome,” Chicago resident Krissy Olson said.
MoDOT announced in October that it was hiring more employees than losing them. For this winter storm, the department will have all of its snowplow operators working 12-hour shifts to keep major roads clear.
Monroe said the department is still looking for more staff but will be fully prepared for this week’s snow.
“We have enough staff to manage certainly this storm and most events,” Monroe said.
IDOT is not pretreating roads because of the uncertain forecast, but Monroe says trucks will be putting down the brine and wants to warn drivers to give snowplow drivers enough space to do their jobs.
“This is the first storm I expect everyone to have plows out,” Monroe said. “Respect those plows. Give the men and women behind those plows plenty of room to work. If you get behind a plow and it’s snowing, it’s a late Christmas gift.”
Monroe went on to explain that the safest place is behind a snowplow, since that’s where you’ll find the driest conditions.
