ST. LOUIS (KMOX) -- Don't freak out if you see a snowplow on the highway today.
It's the annual winter weather drill. Missouri Department of Transportation crews will conduct a dry run of their response to a major snow event. But don't worry, there's no snow coming today.
"Basically it's to get everybody in, check the equipment out, make sure everything is running right, get them some training, and then get them out on the roadways," MoDOT district maintenance engineer Bob Becker explains.
He says it's especially important to get new hires who don't have much experience behind the wheel.
"We've hired some on this year. It's to get them out with a big 12, 14-foot plow in front of the truck and a spreader in the back. Get them out, run the routes, see what it's like to be out in the trucks with traffic around 'em," he says.
The drivers look for anything that's changed, like a new island that could be covered by snow.
Becker says, in May, the state placed a large order for road salt -- 36,000 tons just for the St. Louis-area district.
The plows won't deploy until after 9 a.m. today and they'll be done by 3 p.m.