Metro Detroiters brace for winter storm on Wednesday
(CBS DETROIT) - In less than 24 hours, Metro Detroit will be hit with the strongest winter storm this season.
With more than half a foot of snow expected to fall, everyone is thinking about being ready, including the hundreds of men and women who will be plowing the roads and the stores with the supplies needed to get through the storm.
"We want everybody to be aware that this is coming. We want them to be aware that we're going to do everything we can," said Craig Bryson, senior communications manager at the Road Commission for Oakland County.
Winter weather is nothing new in Michigan, but every snowstorm brings its own set of unique challenges.
"We're going through hoops and bounds to actually get the salt for the customers. Warehouses are not stocked, suppliers are not stocked, so we're jumping through some obstacles to get the product, but we do the best we can and we get what we can get," said Tim Alexander, owner of Alexander True Value in Farmington.
Alexander says that between customers coming in regularly and a drop in supply, this is the first season in nearly four years when the need for salt is this high.
"With what's going on and the demands being short or the supplies being short, demand high, we only have a selective variety right now, so they should just get what they can get and try their best to be safe," he said.
Preparing for a storm of this size on the county level requires a team like the Oakland County road crew.
"The biggest question is how much snow is going to come, and when it's going to come, and then planning to strategize our manpower over an extended period of time," Bryson said.
Right now, teams are starting the brining process by pre-treating the streets with a saltwater solution that will slow down the formation of ice on the roads.
As the night continues, they will start gearing up to send out their plows and will begin to salt as soon as the first flakes begin to fall.
"Our ideal world is where nobody gets in a crash as a result of inclement weather. So, the more we can communicate with the people on what's going on and what we're doing, we think the better we can improve the odds of that happening," said Bryson.
Bryson says with more than a million residents under their care, they also work closely with the surrounding county road agencies, as well as the cities and villages in Oakland County to make sure everyone is in sync.
