Another round of winter weather could make driving difficult on Super Bowl Sunday in North Texas.
Road crews spent parts of Saturday afternoon and night making sure those roads are ready for freezing rain, sleet and even snow.
A Winter Weather Advisory is in effect for most of North Texas from 6:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m. Sunday. A Winter Storm Warning is in effect from 6:00 a.m.-9:00 p.m. Sunday for Cooke, Montague, and Jack counties where the NBC 5 Weather Team expects more significant accumulation and travel problems.
According to FlightAware.com, as of Saturday night, more 300 flights in/out of DFW International Airport have been canceled.
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Bridges, overpasses and interchanges are typically the focus of road crews when winter weather hits and those were some of the spots targeted 12 hours before the storm even hits.
"The anti-icers, the de-icers, the sand the salt, it's all there," said Ryan LaFontaine, public information officer with the Texas Department of Transportation Dallas District.
Dallas District TX DOT crews in Collin County have been preparing for this next round of winter weather since Monday afternoon, checking trucks and equipment.
On Saturday, the focus was on hitting spots that could be affected most by any frozen precipitation, like bridges and overpasses.
"We have some that are more prone to freeze than others, those are the ones we'll treat first," LaFontaine said.
And treating those spots well ahead of the storm is a must.
"What we use is a liquid salt based anti-icer to put down so, it is tricky," LaFontaine said. "You can't wait too long, you can't do it after the rain, you can't do it during the rain. So, we want to make sure we're doing it at the right time."
Of course we've all been through this a time or two, especially with December's ice storm still fresh in our minds. While this storm likely won't be as bad this go around, it does arrive on Super Bowl Sunday.
"It's bad timing, but is there ever any good timing for a storm like this?" LaFontaine said.
Whether the storm hits like a lion or a lamb, TX DOT trucks will certainly be busy by Sunday morning.
"The goal is to certainly hope for the best, but we've got to be prepared for the worst," LaFontaine said.
TX DOT crews in the Dallas District will work 12-hour shifts around the clock starting before noon on Sunday.
The North Texas Tollway Authority says it will have crews in as early as midnight, just in case they're needed.
All road officials ask folks to stay home though once the weather hits, to help make their jobs a bit easier.
