KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Winter weather crews across the Kansas City metro are gearing up for what could be a long 24 hours.
The National Weather Service issued a Winter Weather Advisory for the Kansas City area. It begins at 6 p.m. Tuesday and will be in effect through Wednesday at noon.
The latest FOX4 forecast shows snow is expected to begin falling after sundown. It will begin as rain and turn to snow after 10 p.m. Up to 3 inches of snow is predicted throughout the area.
Kansas
LAWRENCE
Lawrence is pretreating surfaces across the community in anticipation for the winter weather heading toward the city.
City employees will monitor weather conditions and continue to treat roads as necessary.
The public can look at road conditions in different areas of town by accessing the traffic camera system on the city’s website.
The website will also show where snow plows are located, if crews begin plowing snow overnight.
OVERLAND PARK
Overland Park crews plan to begin pretreating streets around 7 p.m. Tuesday. The city plans to monitor changing conditions throughout the evening.
Crews will begin plowing, if snow accumulations call for it.
Missouri
KANSAS CITY
Crews in Kansas City, Missouri, started pre-treating city streets ahead of the incoming snow, which the city says is vital.
Pretreatment is very critical, especially shaded areas in our city. We have a lot of tree canopies and we’re really trying to get there so we can get some penetration to help break up the ice and turn it into water so it runs away. Pretreating is very critical so we can get a good push on that snow and move it off streets quickly,” Michael Shaw, Public Works Director, said.
The crews plan to work around the clock as the rain turns to snow. Once two-inches of snow accumulates, crews will begin plowing the roads to clear them through the Wednesday morning commute.
Kansas City Manager Brian Platt said more than 300 snow removal trucks are in operation, including 10 near truck plows that will be used for the first time.
The city also asks drivers to avoid parking on city streets Tuesday evening. Plows will be able to clear streets quicker if they don’t have to go around cars.
Missouri Department of Transportation crews started coming in around 7 p.m. Tuesday.
MoDOT says temperatures above freezing throughout the day and early evening made pre-treating the roads difficult.
“With the early part of the storm being rain we’re ready to respond more to a snow event in the later hours of the evening,” Matt Killion, assistant MoDOT district engineer, said.
MoDOT says its salt supplies are in good shape and it’s equipment is ready to go.
“With our severe staffing shortage statewide we have been moving people around to different parts of the state to respond to the storm,” Killion said.
This time that could mean more crews heading south. But they expect to be busy overnight when snow really starts falling.
MoDOT hopes that leads to a smooth rush hour.
“Certainly with the majority of the snow being overnight we are able to do more in terms of treating the roads with chemicals and salt and being prepared for the morning rush,” Killion said.
You are advised to check on road conditions before you head out.
Additional information will be added to this story as communities release more information about storm preps.
