MoDOT readies for Mid-Missouri’s first snow of the season
Olivia Hayes
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
The Missouri Department of Transportation is preparing for Mid-Missouri’s first snowstorm of the season to hit this Thanksgiving weekend.
An ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather Alert Day has been issued for Friday night through Saturday for the potential for the first accumulating snowfall of the season.
The heaviest snow will fall northeast of Columbia, where 2 to 4 inches is possible in places like Macon, Moberly, Mexico, Paris and Montgomery City. A quick changeover in Boonville, Columbia and Jefferson City will bring a mix of rain and snow, and a trace to 2 inches of snow is possible.
Mostly rain is expected at the Lake of the Ozarks.
Jason Shafer, MoDOT Central District maintenance engineer, said the possibility of rain before the snow can make it harder to successfully pretreat the roads.
“Treating in advance, it’s just going to get washed off the roads. So you know we’re going to go into it being prepared for whenever the weather does change, and you know that’s still quite effective,” Shafer said.
Shafer said MoDOT uses melting salts and beet juice for its road treatments. Drivers will be rotating around the clock every 12 hours, Shafer said.
There are still several unfilled driver openings, but Shafer says the number of openings is less than in previous years.
“We’re still down statewide by several hundred,” Shafer said. “Everyone’s had very comprehensive training as far as what to do during these storms, so everyone’s prepared.”
Drivers have been training since September and October.
AAA projects 81.8 million people will travel at least 50 miles from home over the Thanksgiving holiday period. AAA projects at least 73 million people will travel by car — that’s nearly 90% of Thanksgiving travellers and an additional 1.3 million people on the road compared to last Thanksgiving.
“If your trip normally takes you 3 hours, plan on 3.5 hours. I mean, maybe even plan for four hours,” said Jon Nelson, MoDOT’s state highway safety and traffic engineer. “I think if people go into it with the mindset like, hey, this may take a little bit more time that’s gonna help them be patient as drivers.”
Freezing air will also move in once rain and snow end Saturday evening, so any roads that are still wet or slushy will freeze by Sunday morning.