Maryland highway crews prepare for winter storm

A lot of snow can mean trouble on the roads, but state highway officials have been preparing for this exact situation all year.

HIGHWAY OFFICIALS HAVE BEENPREPARING FOR THIS EXACTSITUATION ALL YEAR.

AND, ASWMAR 2 NEWS'S DON HARRISONTELLS US, WE NEED TO MAKE SUWE ARE PREPARED AS WELL.Track: As the temperaturesdrops, our anxiety of drivingon slick surfaces rises.

Thereare 18,200 miles of roadways toclear in Maryland and highwayofficials say they are ready.They keep adding new equipmentevery year and that includesnew software for our benefit.There are nearly 80 sensorsaround the state that can tellus almost anything we need toknow about the roadconditions.

Sot: They candetect the thickness of thesnow, the water, the ice,whatever it is within onemillimeter of accuracy, whichis pretty incredible I think.It also measures the surfacetemperatures, road conditions,freeze point, saltconcentration on the roasurface.

Track; The vehiclesworking in the field havesensors on them as well.

Allthat can be accessed on theState Highway Administration'sweb site.

From the comfort ofyour home you can access a tonof information to help youplan your trip or if you needto decide if it's prudent togo out at all.

Sot: How manyactive vehicles are on theroads, you can click on aparticular road in yourneighborhood, which is whatmost people would do or wherethey would be happen to begoing to see what therecommute is going to look likeand how many roads have beetreated.

Stand up: The statehighway administration isprepared for these storms, butmany of us have been workingfrom home and not driving asmuch so there may be somepreparations for us as well.Sot: They may not know if thebattery is in good operatingcondition, if there fluids areat the levels they should bein, if the tires are at thelevel they should have.

Track:The average snow fall for theBaltimore/Washingtonmetropolitan area is 10 and ahalf inches per year.

Thereare many things we can do toget ready, but the best thinmay be to do is nothing!

Sot:Just stay home if you don'thave to go out.

That's theeasiest thing to do.

Sig out:úIn Anne Arundel county, DHCOVID NUMBERS ARE GOING BACKUP TONIGHT... AFTER A WE