STAUNTON, Va – Virginia Department of Transportation crews are preparing for the weekend winter weather event forecasted to begin during the morning of Saturday, January 6. Snow and sleet are expected in the Shenandoah Valley and Alleghany Highlands region. Several inches are anticipated with larger snow totals possible in higher elevation areas.

All travelers are asked to be aware of weather and travel conditions along their route. Conditions are expected to vary across Virginia during this storm. Always buckle up when traveling. The safest practice is to avoid travel during the snow and ice event.

VDOT crews will be pretreating interstate and some primary roads throughout the Staunton District and in other parts of the state on Friday, January 5. Travelers are asked to provide room for brine trucks.

During the early morning hours of Saturday, January 6, crews in the VDOT Staunton District crews will be staged and prepared to begin snow removal operations once accumulations begin. The Staunton District will mobilize approximately 974 pieces of equipment for this weather event.

Road conditions and traffic cameras can be found on the VDOT 511 website at http://www.511Virginia.org, Roads with snow conditions will be marked minor, moderate, severe or closed. Apps for 511 are available for android and iOS devices.