At the PennDOT garage in Philadelphia's Hunting Park section, trucks were being loaded with salt in preparation for the nor'easter, which is expected to bring several inches of snow to parts of our region.
182 trucks will be out and ready to go today, and 200 others supplied by contractors can be called on if need be.
The thinking is that this nor'easter will generally start as a wet snow and rain event during the day. But when temperatures approach just above freezing, trucks will be deployed in an effort to keep roadways clear.
Nick Martino of PennDOT explains, "It seems like it is changing. And the whole thing we're watching is how much of the snow will actually stay on the roadway. Another thing we're watching is, from last week's hurricane, with saturated ground, we want to insure that the trees are in place. So we do have tree contractors ready to go in case any trees or limbs come down that are going to impede the roadway."
With the forecast calling for high winds, trees coming down on to roads are a real concern. That is why PennDOT is taking precautions as they prepare for the brunt of this nor'easter to hit later today.
