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Snow and sleet are expected to arrive mid afternoon on Friday in western North Carolina, with more ice expected toward to the Lake Norman area. The weather is expected to continue into early Saturday,

David Uchiyama, a spokesperson for NCDOT, said crews will spread brine — a salt mixture meant to prevent snow and ice from sticking to roads — on interstates and U.S. highways in Iredell and Catawba counties. Some operations started Wednesday and they will likely continue into Thursday afternoon.

He said transportation workers in Burke and McDowell counties were aiming to spread brine on Thursday afternoon when the temperature is warm enough.

Uchiyama said spreading brine requires an air temperature above 32 degrees. If the temperature falls below that during application, the brine could cause ice.

Â鶹´«Ã½ storm preparations

The city of Â鶹´«Ã½ said it will have crews and equipment set up for around-the-clock work to clear streets of snow and ice. Starting Friday morning, crews will be spreading a salt and sand mixture on hills and bridges. After that, crews will continue to monitor the weather until there is enough snow to scrape off the streets, the city said in a release.

The focus will first be on primary streets and then secondary streets, followed by residential streets, the release said.

In addition, crews will be available to clear sidewalks in downtown Â鶹´«Ã½.

The city said vehicles parked on the street are an obstacle to crews trying to clear roads. People can help by parking off the street or aligning vehicles on one side of the street, the release said. Residents also are asked to not put any debris or bulk trash by the street as the storm approaches.

Valdese ready for snow

Town of Valdese road crews were preparing the roads with brine at lunchtime Thursday and getting plows ready for the winter weather.

Allen Hudson, public works director for Valdese, said his department will monitor the weather and roads on Friday.

“The plan is, as soon as the weather breaks early Saturday morning, for all crews to be here, and we’re gonna start plowing and get it cleaned,� Hudson said.

Hudson is asking residents try not to block roads and try to keep cars out of the roads to help crews better be able to clear the roads.

“Just bear with us and we’ll get them as cleaned up as quick as we can,� Hudson said.

Marion snow preparations

Darrin Maynor, public works superintendent for the city of Marion, said the city has its snow plows ready to go and was laying down brine on Thursday.

Maynor said his crew members were putting brine on priority roads such as Rankin and Spaulding roads as well as on hills and at stop signs.

He said salt or brine will be spread on sidewalks on Main Street and side streets such as Logan, Garden and Woodlawn streets on Friday. Roads to assisted living facilities will also be prepared.

On Friday afternoon, the public works day shift will be working until 3:30 p.m. and then a crew will come in at 5 a.m. Saturday, Maynor said.

He said NCDOT crews will handle U.S. Highway 221 and Sugar Hill.

Hickory prepares for snow

The city of Hickory said Thursday that its public works crews were making preparations for the anticipated winter storm.

The city said in a release that it has a new brine system capable of making 5,000 gallons of brine in one and a half hours with 10,000 gallons of storage capacity. The city said its two trucks with brine sprayers have been coating major roads, bridges and overpasses with the brine solution for several days ahead of the storm.

“This practice helps to prevent snow from sticking to the pavement and makes plowing and additional salting more effective,� the city release said.

Hickory also has eight trucks with spreaders and plows and eight trucks with just plows at the ready with 600 tons of salt, 400 tons of sand and 400 tons of a salt/sand mixture on hand, if needed. Crews will be working in 13-hour shifts throughout the winter weather event to respond as needed, the release said.

If snow or freezing rain begins to fall, crews spread a salt and sand mixture on bridges and overpasses first. The salt begins the melting process. The sand helps with traction, the city said.

Next, the heavily traveled streets are treated. If a significant accumulation of snow and ice occurs, generally greater than 1 inch, the city will begin plowing streets, the release said. Major roads, such as Lenoir-Rhyne Boulevard, N.C. Highway 127 and Tate Boulevard are cleared first, followed by minor roads. Crews only clear residential streets when the main streets have been cleared, the city said.

Statesville prepares for ice

The city of Statesville said it is expecting any precipitation that falls to stick to roads.

The city public works department started road treatments Wednesday and will be ready to address icy conditions throughout the weekend.

April Nesbit, public information officer for Statesville, said the city is responding to the expected winter weather with:

• Public Works Department: All vehicles have been checked, fueled up, and are ready to go as soon as the storm starts. Crews will be working throughout the night on Friday to clear snow from the roads.
• Electric Department: Additional staff will be on call over the weekend to assist in the event of power outages.
• Fire and police: Statesville fire and police departments have additional staff in place to assist with calls.

The Statesville fire and police departments asked people to not do any “hot-dogging� or “donuts� on city streets, the city said in a release.

“Keep it safe out there so we don’t have to rescue you from preventable accidents,� the departments said in a release. “Let’s leave the donuts to the bakeries, okay?�