ASHTABULA, Ohio (WOIO) – People in the snow belt are preparing to dig themselves out again. Another round of winter storms is set to hit the area Tuesday and in to the weekend.
“If it’s got to be winter, it has got to be cold,” says Donald Burt
Burt and his wife Jennifer are from Ashtabula County.
They said they embrace the cold but are still getting ready for more snow and ice to head their way.
“We are just getting the wood loaded in the house. Keeping the fires burning,” says Burt.
Ashtabula County already pounded with snow this winter. Some parts saw 5 feet dumped on them earlier this month.
While people there and in the snow belt won’t see that much this time around, the roads can become slick and dangerous, but the Ohio Department of Transportation says they are prepared to keep you and your family safe.
“Our crews are fully staffed. All of our garages are fully staffed. That way when the rain turns to snow, we are ready to rock,” says Ray Marsch with The Ohio Department of Transportation.
ODOT says they have 250 crews across Northeast Ohio ready to tackle this storm.
Twenty-two of those drivers will be in Ashtabula County, but they are able to allocate their resources and change them if they need help covering the roads.
“Those 22 crews will be on 12-hour shifts throughout the weekend as long as that snow is going to be forecasted we are going to have 22 crews all throughout Ashtabula County,” says Marsch.
Ray Marsch who is the spokesperson for ODOT District 4 and a plow driver himself, says unfortunately with all the rain on Tuesday they were not able to pretreat the roads.
“We just truly can’t put down any material when that rain comes down because it just washes away. But once that rain does go away, we will start to treat the roads with a mixture of salt and brine,” says Marsch.
Marsch says they have plenty of salt and supplies for this winter. He wants to remind people, if you must be out on the roads, take it slow and give the plows plenty of space.
“As it is forecasted, we are going to see multiple inches of snow on the road and when that happens when snow is coming down more than an inch an hour, our crews can’t keep up. Their job is to make it passable, not perfect,” says Marsch.
“The state keeps up with it pretty well,” says Burt. “I try not to drive when its that bad out.”
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