Prepare for Winter Travel Before You Hit the Road with Latest from Iowa DOT

 The first “taste” of Winter ’24-25 across the region came just a week out from Thanksgiving as motorists dealt with some slick roads on their commute Thursday (11.21) morning.

As for state highways, Pete Hjelmstad, with the Mason City District Office of the Iowa DOT, says crews went into action Wednesday (11.20) night into Thursday morning to clean up roads. Hjelmstad adds that the process was aided with the pre-snow application of brine to help cut down on freezing.

Hjelmstad says the DOT officially entered its “winter season” October 15th and, for the winter months ahead, he recommends checking www.511ia.org or downloading the 511ia app before you travel.

Hjelmstad does offer a word of caution when you check road conditions for snow and/or ice.

Most snowfall amounts across north and northeast Iowa Wednesday into early Thursday were generally a half-inch or less.