City of Danville crews will begin pretreating main thoroughfares with brine on Friday due to the increasing potential for a winter storm on Monday and Tuesday. The National Weather Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook.
The decision to begin pretreating streets early was made because – much like last month’s snowstorm – low temperatures will limit the window of opportunity for applying brine before arrival of the storm.
Temperatures on Friday are expected to reach a high of 35 degrees. On Saturday and Sunday, however, temperatures will remain below freezing.
Brine is a mixture of water and salt. When applied to the road surface, the water in the brine evaporates, leaving the salt behind on the road. The salt breaks the bond between the snow and the roadway, and it therefore helps prevent the snow from freezing onto roads and bridges.
At low temperatures, however, brine can freeze to the road surface rather than evaporate.
Crews will apply brine when temperatures reach 25 degrees. It takes city crews about 10 hours to pretreat all main thoroughfares.
As of Thursday afternoon, the National Weather Service’s forecast is snow likely on Monday; and on Tuesday, snow and rain. The daytime high on Monday is expected to be near 33, with an overnight low of 19. On Tuesday, warmer air will arrive in the area, with a high temperature near 46 degrees.