GRAND RAPIDS, Mich — The Kent County Road Commission is preparing for this weekend's winter weather that is expected to bring heavy rain, snow and ice to West Michigan.
It's still too early to call in extra staff, but crews are on call in anticipation of any type of weather this weekend brings.
The road commission was part of a webinar Thursday, with meteorologists from the National Weather Service and utility crews to discuss what to expect. Jerry Byrne with the road commission said he and his crews are hauling in additional sandbags to help with traction on roads in case of an ice storm.
".. right now it's a matter of getting sand ready, making sure equipment is ready to handle the variety of forecasts from three inches of rain to freezing rain to snow to high winds," Byrne said.
He said the worst-case scenario for the road commission is freezing rain and high winds because then there's a possibility of down trees, power lines and minimal traction on the roads.
This storm will likely knock out power across West Michigan. Consumers Energy is also planning its response in the event of downed trees and power lines.
“We won’t send crews out when conditions are dangerous so we ask for patience," said Roger Morgenstern with Consumers Energy.
Consumers is encouraging people to be prepared for two to three days without power.
Morgenstern suggests buying plenty of non-perishable food supplies and stock up on water.
If you have a generator make sure it's at least 20 feet away from your home so you don't have to worry about carbon monoxide poisoning.
Follow Consumers Energy's power outage map for updates.
Related video:
More stories on 13 ON YOUR SIDE:
►Make it easy to keep up to date with more stories like this. Download the 13 ON YOUR SIDE app now.
Have a news tip? Email news@13onyourside.com, visit our Facebook page or Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel.