Snow drought ends: Parts of central NC gets first measurable snowfall in 2 years

The North Carolina Department of Transportation gave an update Friday afternoon on its preparations and strategies for managing roadways before, during and after the winter storm.

Doug McNeal, division maintenance engineer for NCDOT's Division 5, said NCDOT has been preparing for this during the past three days.

Division 5 covers Durham and Wake counties as well as surrounding counties up to the Virginia line.

"We've had about 65 salt-brine applicators out in the division. We've put out roughly 465,000 gallons in our division," McNeal said.

Statewide, more than 3 million gallons have been put down.

"We're expecting impacts across pretty much all of North Carolina. Right now, we're transitioning to our response time," McNeal said. "We're starting to see a little bit of snow in the air ... but it's certainly going to get treacherous out there."

He said 110 DOT trucks and motor graders are ready to go and an additional 150 contract trucks are loaded and staged.

"As it starts to roll in, we generally wait until you can see tracks in the road before we start taking in, applying salt," McNeal said. "If you apply before then, it just bounces off the roads, so you need a little bit of material there to capture it but once we give it a little bit of time to activate, and we're plowing from there."

He said another concern with this storm is the potential for freezing rain.

"We're seeing forecasts potentially up to a quarter-inch of ice in the area," McNeal said.

They've also staged what McNeal called cut-and-shove crews.

"We'll take and try to cut it back to the edge of the pavement and then push off everything else so that the lanes are open and then we come back after things warm up in a couple of days and clear it up from there," he explained.

McNeal said Saturday would be a good day for people to sleep in and "enjoy that cup of coffee before you go out."

Roads are one of the biggest concerns for North Carolina with this upcoming winter storm, according to Governor Josh Stein and emergency officials.

Crews are already out on the roads in full force. The Department of Transportation has activated over 1,900 employees and contractors involved in pre-storm preparations.

As of this morning, 3 million gallons of brine have pre-treated hundreds of roads across the state. Preparations also include:

• 600 trucks with plows and spreaders
• 300 motor graders to help remove snow and ice
• 160,000 tons of salt ready to treat the roads

Watch the full storm briefing with Governor Stein, emergency officials

"We are staging equipment in areas that are known trouble spots during winter storms," Joey Hopkins, NCDOT's secretary of transportation, said during a Friday storm briefing. "We are partnering with North Carolina State Highway Patrol and the North Carolina National Guard for additional resources in several hotspots where breakdowns occur regularly during these types of events. Their assistance...enables quicker clearance of disabled vehicles to help maintain safe traffic flow in these spots."

The big message is for people to get the supplies they need now. NCDOT urges people to not travel during the storm unless it's necessary.

Stein relayed tips Friday from emergency management officials, including paying attention to your local forecast and being prepared for whatever is expected in your area.

"Keep your cell phones, mobile devices and spare batteries charged in case you experience power outages," he said. "Please avoid the roads unless you absolutely must travel."

Due to the anticipated impacts of the winter storm, Blue Cross NC is allowing early prescription refills for customers in all 100 NC counties until Jan. 19.

This comes after Governor Stein declared a state of emergency Thursday.

Requests must be made while the State of Emergency declaration is still in effect, the health insurance company said Friday. The policy also does not apply to controlled substances.

For more information, click here.

Preparation is the name of the game because it has been a while since we had a measurable snowfall in the area, so folks are stocking up on snacks and supplies to just stay inside.

Some shoppers say they don't know what to expect as central North Carolina could see snow, sleet and freezing rain.

"I can remember when I was a kid, it snowed every winter but see, like like two or three or four or five years, we hadn't had much snow. Oh, it's bad rain here because people are not used to it."

ABC11 also stopped by a local hardware store and the owner says ice melt hand warmers, gloves, and a de-icer for car windshields have been in demand.