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City, county, state crews brace for wintry blast

Posted at 6:25 PM, Feb 23, 2017
and last updated 2017-02-23 19:25:14-05
Crews across the city say they are prepared to deal with overnight snow.
 
Hundreds of vehicles are on standby ready to hit the streets.
 
City, state and county crews say they're ready for the combination of rain and snow expected over the next 24 hours.
 
Omaha is in 24-hour response mode.
 
"We are preparing for the highest amount of snow and we always prepare for the worst and hope for the best," said Mayor Jean Stothert. 
 
The city will have 110 trucks with an additional 190 contract vehicles on standby, bracing for thunder showers and then snow.
 
"Wind is one of the main factors,” said Austin Rowser, city street maintenance supervisor. “Differing snowfall amounts across the city can be an issue that we're faced with. I think right now as we look at the forecast just the wind appears to be the biggest factor."
 
Because of the expected rain the city won’t be able to pre-treat streets, Rowser said.
 
"The biggest challenge we have with that is we lose the ability to spread the brine as a pretreatment,” he said. “That brine would wash away and we wouldn't have any effect from that."
 
Nebraska state troopers are also getting ready for challenging conditions.
 
"You're running from call to call where someone may spin out, they might not hit anybody else or a guard rail or anything like that,” said State Patrol Lt. Kevin Bridges. “We get the calls, we check on them. It's extremely busy."
 
The Nebraska Department of Roads says the last few winter events went smoothly for them.
 
They're hoping that's the case this time on area highways and interstates.
 
"Every storm has been like the first storm of the year,” said NDOR Highway Maintenance Superintendent Jim Laughlin. “So, be safe out there. Give yourself some space. Don't crowd everybody. Everybody will get there."
 
Sarpy County officials say their biggest challenge is gravel and sand being washed away by rain or blown away by wind.
 
They'll have all 16 trucks on county roads and rural areas.