Despite heat and humidity, Cary officials begin preparing for snow

Starting Thursday, Cary’s Department of Transportation will be conducting winter weather drills. They are bringing out all of their winter weather equipment to make sure it’s ready before the first snow storm.

"This is something we've been doing for quite a few years. It's necessary to make sure our equipment is operating," said facility maintenance worker Kolin Johnson.

Johnson spent Thursday driving a truck all around Cary and getting some strange looks.

"They get to waving like 'What's going on? Did we get a weather report that they didn't get,'" Johnson said.

Crews are making sure that they are familiar with any new roads that have been built in the past year and are training new staff and timing their routes to make sure the town is capable of brining all roads in 24 hours.

“If there is an impending storm, we can plan ahead and say if it takes 24 hours to hit all the lane miles. At least we’ll be prepared,” said Solid Waste Division Manager Bob Holden. "It's a good opportunity to test all of our equipment."

On Thursday and Friday, drivers will see brine trucks out on the road, but they will only be spraying water instead of actual brine.

Next week, drivers will see snow plows out on the roads, practicing routes.

"This also helps our citizens get prepared because they'll see our equipment out and about and they'll think 'Oh, I should be preparing myself for any winter weather,'" Holden said.

Down at DOT headquarters, there is a full blown winter weather operation underway. Next Wednesday, more than 300 public works employees will work 12 hour shifts for a mock run-through of what would happen in the event of a snow storm.

The City of Durham is also planning ahead for winter and will hold a meeting on Oct. 25 to discuss action plans. The city also does dry runs with equipment, but has not yet scheduled a date.