By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
Temperatures are expected to drop overnight into Thursday, bringing more snow and ice to the roads.
MODOT Traffic Operations Engineer Adam Wood says despite the warmer weather we've been seeing these past couple weeks, MODOTs message to drivers during winter weather remains the same.
"Of course this is probably, you're right we've had nicer weather, but this is probably the third or fourth storm we've had this year, so overall winter weather is nothing new this year," Wood tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. "So the messages we always send are to give our drivers extra care, keep your distance from them, don't get out if you don't have to."
The weather service expects rain at first. It could turn to freezing rain, then snow; as much as three inches.
As temperatures drop overnight and snow is expected, snowplow crews will be back on the roads for the Missouri Department of Transportation.
Wood says the department is still seeing a shortage of snowplow drivers.
"We're using all resources we have right now, but we have 1,600 snowplows available and 2,800 workers to fill those plows, but you have to remember we've got to fill those trucks days and nights," Wood says. "So when you do the math we're a few 100 people short of filling all those trucks."
Wood says its a high turnover rate for snowplow drivers, so most of the departments drivers are in their first year plowing snow.
"We give them the appropriate training and prepare them as much as we can, but this is still new territory to them," Wood says. "So, it's always going to be a little bit of a hurdle when you've got a high rate of turnover and you're constantly using newer employees to remove snow."
Wood says snowplow crews will begin work monitoring the road and weather conditions at 7pm tonight. Fresh crews will be deployed at 7am tomorrow.