A forecast including record cold temperatures, snow, wind and significant wind-chill, will make the storm through Thursday particularly difficult for snow removal and travel. Crews from the South Central District of the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) are working on area roads.
According to South Central Maintenance Operations Engineer Chris Rutledge, extended temperatures below zero are expected to make treatment and snow removal a challenge during this storm system. “Once the temperature drops near zero and below, salt and other anti-icing treatments become ineffective and can refreeze on the roadways; making travel that much more difficult. On major routes, a higher volume of traffic helps to warm the pavement, allowing us to utilize these treatments. With the anticipated record cold temperatures during this storm system, we are planning to use a aggregate ash mixture and plowing on our minor routes, but will not be using anti-icing product on them due to their limited effectiveness,” he said.
Minor routes are expected to remain partially covered until temperatures are sustained well above zero. With record cold temperatures in the forecast through the weekend, anti-icing treatments may not be utilized for several days. These routes will still be treated with aggregate ash and plowed.