City and county crews prepare for overnight snow

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- Early morning snowfall could make for a messy morning commute for drivers on Wednesday, Nov. 6.

Counties in the area have already started getting the roads ready. 

Milwaukee Department of Public Works deployed six trucks Tuesday to spray brine, a mixture of salt and water, on city bridges.

Officials say there are 90 trucks ready to go overnight.

Drivers in Waukesha are planning for extra drive time and making sure their cars are ready for the morning.

"We just gotta make sure we have good tires on our car and drive safe, but you gotta have good tires, that's the key," said Tod Kolinski of Waukesha.

The Department of Transportation says people should clear off snow before driving and have an emergency kit in case they slide off the road and have to wait for help.

"Make sure you clear off all your glass, all your side windows, rear windows, front window and also make sure you get your tail lights and your headlights so vehicles can spot you more easily," said Michael Pyritz, Regional Communications Manager for WisDOT. "Mittens, blanket, you know, jumper cables -- I even have a little shovel."

Waukesha County says they are not doing any pre-treatment because of warmer road temperatures, but they have more than 50 trucks ready to go for the morning.

Ozaukee County did pre-treat bridges and overpasses, which they say are most likely to ice. Crews in Ozaukee County could be out on roads by 4 a.m. or earlier.

"If it's coming down as heavy as they're predicting, which is about a half an inch an hour, that's a pretty good storm, so I think people that can stay off the road and work from home or delay a little bit to come in, it may be advised."

Officials are reminding drivers to be cognizant and leave enough room for crews to work.

"My standard advice is always just try to give our plows plenty of room. They're gonna do the best they can to get that road opened up, get that pavement as dry as possible."

Pyritz says it's a good thing there's still not really any frost on the ground at this point, so some of the snow should melt on contact.