Clermont County Engineer’s Office prepares for the first significant winter storm of the season

The Clermont County Engineer’s Office is preparing for what could be the first significant winter storm of the season. The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch for the area for tonight through Wednesday morning; between three and five inches of snow mixed with ice, sleet, and freezing rain is possible.

“Right now our crews are attaching plows to trucks and calibrating calcium chloride sprayers to ensure that they dispense the correct amount of chemical,” said Rob Alfieri, highway operations manager with the Clermont County Engineer’s Office. “The calcium chloride helps road salt work at lower temperatures and keeps the salt on the road; it is an alternative to the brine application that some agencies use. Salt works to de-ice roads to around 15-20 degrees; we use calcium chloride to help the salt work to zero degrees.”

Alfieri plans for road crews to begin their assault around midnight on the 400 miles of county roadways the Engineer's Office oversees.

"We will start with putting down an anti-icing layer so the snow does not bond to the road surface," he said. "Crews will be closely monitoring highly traveled hills, curves, overpasses, and intersections to ensure they are passable. We will also plow as conditions warrant."

A Winter Storm Watch means conditions are favorable for a hazardous winter weather event in or close to the watch area. The National Weather Service is reporting that the storm should begin as snow, but begin mixing with sleet and freezing rain by tomorrow afternoon.