City of Tulsa crews are on standby on Friday to treat the roads ahead of Saturday’s winter weather. The crew could potentially work through Sunday depending on the severity of the winter system.

The city says the tricky part of Saturday’s system is waiting to see how much rain falls before the snow hits because that determines how they are able to treat the roads.

On Saturday, up to 35 crews will be assigned to treat the 1,770 miles of roads within the City of Tulsa. That distance is about the same as driving from Tulsa to San Francisco.

The city says if there is a steady rain all the way up until the snow begins, then they won’t be able to pre-treat those roads, but they will be able to quickly get salt down on the ground once the snow starts.

If there is a gap between the rain and snow, city crews will be able to put down brine, which is a salt and water mix, during that time to get ahead of any accumulation on the roads.

They say due to the warm temperatures this week the surfaces are warm as well, meaning the snow shouldn’t stick as easily on the pavement.

City of Tulsa Spokesperson Carson Colvin said the city has one message for Tulsans as the weather approaches:

“Stay in if you don’t have to go out. If you do have to go out, drive slow and stay as far back as you can from the trucks and plows out on the road,” Colvin said.

Main streets and bridges will be cleared first for safety and then crews will move on to the residential neighborhoods when they can.