Crews work on snow-covered, icy roads

Decatur: On January 11, the Morgan County Emergency Management Agency and city officials reported that road conditions were pretty dangerous. They advised folks to stay home over the weekend since the cold weather would make things icy.

Jonathan Warner, the EMA director, mentioned that there were several accidents reported on Friday morning. Cars were sliding off the roads, which is definitely not a good sign. He stressed that all roads in Morgan County are hazardous and urged everyone to avoid unnecessary travel.

Garbage collection that usually happens on Fridays will be pushed to Monday, according to Mayor Tab Bowling. Warner also noted a couple of wrecks on Interstate 65 and U.S. 31, which are the main roads that have been treated. If those are causing issues, the side roads must be even worse.

The Alabama Department of Transportation has been working hard to pretreat the roads, and Warner saw them out on I-65 with plows clearing snow. He reminded residents to be careful and not put themselves in situations where they might need to call for help.

Warner emphasized that emergency responders are already busy and don’t need more people on the roads than necessary. It’s important to save 911 calls for real emergencies, not for power outages or road conditions.

City Engineer Carl Prewitt said that by Friday afternoon, the roads were still “slushy,” and not much had changed since the morning. They had a flatbed truck spreading sand to help with traction.

Prewitt explained that anything wet would freeze again, making it slick. They’re doing their best to keep the main roads clear. Sand has been spread around key areas, including near Decatur Morgan Hospital and in various neighborhoods.

He mentioned that they would keep working through the night, hoping for warmer weather on Saturday to help improve conditions. However, National Weather Service meteorologist Kurt Weber warned that temperatures would barely rise above freezing, so travel conditions might not get better.

Weber noted that while people might be able to get out for a short time on Saturday afternoon, it would still be icy, especially in shaded areas. He advised against traveling Saturday night as things would likely freeze over again.