GREENSBORO, N.C. -- We want to take a second and explain why different crews use different methods to deal with snow all across our area. You may see a snow plow, that isn't plowing -- or in one area.
Really, it all comes down to the snow itself.
Right now, there are two very different types of snow.
One is the soft powdery stuff that you probably still have plenty of at your house, and the other is this hard icy, compacted mixture that could still be on the roads.
The reason a crew might use a plow, or salt to deal with one or the other -- is because a plow can only get so low.
Normally they go right over the icy surface, but as for the soft powdery stuff, they can plow that -- all day.
In Greensboro for this snow storm, they used both methods -- but at different times.
Before the storm started, they salted the roads heavily so the salt could start breaking the bond between any snow that would fall -- and the road.
Of course, with as much snow as we got -- it started to pile up.
The City then made the decision to start plowing -- because again, the fluffy snow is easy to plow.
Once the sun and temperatures went down, they had to switch plans again.
"Last night, when temperatures dropped down into the single digits, plowing was pretty much ineffective. We fell back, and we started re-treating all of those priority one and priority two roads again with salt.," said Mike Mabe, with the City Of Greensboro.