Snowstorm 2013 moves into Mid-Michigan - ABC 12 – WJRT – Flint, MI

(02/07/13) - Mid-Michigan is preparing for the biggest snow storm of the year.

Road crews have been monitoring the weather all day and were out as early as 4 a.m. Thursday in Saginaw County.

They try to get a load of salt on the state highways first when they're expecting snow storms. Then they target the primary roads and other areas.

"Then our night shift will come in and they'll be on response call with 911 prepping our trucks for the next day. We'll start as early at 5 or possibly as early as 4 if needed," said Saginaw County Road Commission director Dennis Borchard.

The Saginaw County Road Commission has a GPS system set up on their website where people can monitor where their trucks have been. Each color represents something different.

"Every one of these colors actually indicate what they're actually doing out there," Borchard said. "Sometimes, the vehicle's on and just the salt spreaders are on - you'll see the black mark on that. Vehicle on, the plow is on and our sensors actually hook right on the under body blade, so when that blade is actually touching the ground, that's an indication of where they're actually plowing."

"I think it's great so that people know ahead of time where they're going, if they need to worry about what the weather's going to do while they're out and about," said Saginaw resident Lynn  Boensch.

You can find the GPS tracker HERE.  

In Saginaw, Tom McIntyre, with Saginaw County 911, says they have been getting updates from the emergency operation center. Many road commissioners we spoke to said they have been watching the weather.

In Genesee County, Road Commission director John Daly said his team is as prepared as can be. He tell us that we haven't had a lot of snow yet this season, so their salt supplies are full. The asphalt isn't too cold, so they don't have to do much prep.

Daly says once it starts snowing, you're better off avoiding the roads if you can, but if you do have to go out, use the main roads because they'll get plowed first. Even though they'll be busier, they'll get the most attention and should be easier to drive on.

What he's most worried about, however, is Friday morning. If it starts to warm up, we could see some freezing rain, and there's not much they can do about that.

ABC12 will be tracking the storm throughout the night and into Friday morning. We'll have the latest updates on air and online at abc12.com.

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