Alabama braces for another round of snow and wintry weather
An Alabama Power crew works to restore power following surprisingly heavy snowfall in Alabama in December 2017. (Alabama Power)
Alabama Power crews are ready to respond to any weather-related outages. (file)
Depending on where you live in Alabama, you could experience a wintry mix of snow, sleet, ice and freezing rain starting early tomorrow morning.
Forecasters are predicting snow will hit most of the state Tuesday morning, with bitter temperatures capping off the winter weather through Wednesday.
[Alabama Power gives energy-savings tips]
Alabama Power doesn’t anticipate a significant number of outages from the cold, but we are monitoring the changing forecast. Our crews are ready to respond when and where needed.
Check out tips on how to prepare for winter weather and see how Alabama Power is prepared to respond.
Alabama Power prepared for winter storm from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
The Alabama Department of Transportation and the Alabama Emergency Management Agency are warning Alabamians to expect dangerous conditions across the state as the winter weather moves through.
As of Monday afternoon, the National Weather Service is projecting snowfall amounts up to 3 inches in the most heavily affected areas; however, the impacts from any snow that falls will be amplified by the potentially extreme cold temperatures that will be in place.
While the Alabama Department of Transportation has been pretreating as many interstates and other primary highways as possible in the areas expected to be affected, these roads can still experience potentially hazardous conditions during and after the anticipated winter weather event. Drivers on these roads should stay in lanes that have been treated or cleared, as attempting to pass in uncleared lanes may lead to crashes and blocked roads. The public is encouraged to check with their local county or municipality for conditions on county and local roads.
Motorists are encouraged to use extreme caution while driving, check road conditions before departing, allow for increased travel times and adjust arrival and departure times accordingly.
Motorists needing information on road conditions in Alabama should look to local news media and go to ALGOtraffic.com or download the ALGO Traffic app available online in the Apple App Store and on Google Play, as well as following ALGOtraffic on Twitter. Motorists should never text, tweet or use a mobile device while operating a vehicle.
Appropriate driving speeds are determined by the road conditions, which on wet or icy roads should be slower than the posted speed limit. Motorists should slow down and move over if possible when approaching ALDOT and other highway maintenance personnel and emergency vehicles at work.
The Alabama Emergency Management Agency is reminding Alabamians that one of the most important preparedness steps that can be taken is to put together an emergency preparedness kit with a three-day supply of food, water and other critical supplies. In addition, they should put together a preparedness kit for vehicles that includes a car charger, ice scraper, jumper cables and blankets.
The Alabama Department of Transportation contributed to this report.
