Extra plows brought in to help with road clearing efforts Sunday.

The NC Department of Transportation has been working aggressively to clear roads here in Moore County; however there are still many secondary roads in southern Moore County that are still partially covered with snow.

The freezing weather over the past several nights has hurt snow-removing efforts, because plows cannot scrape ice, and rock salt is ineffective at breaking up the ice into slush when temperatures fall below 18 degrees. With single digit temperatures here overnight this week this is one of the primary reasons why NCDOT has not been able scrape a lot of roads late at night these past few days. Salt is being added overnight, but the trucks have to wait until the next morning when the ice and packed-down snow can get loosened up in the sunshine to begin plowing again.

According to NCDOT, rising temperatures have allowed them to make some progress on these roads Sunday but they anticipate that this area will still have some routes partially covered later tonight when lower temperatures hamper their efforts.

The NC Department of Transportation has been able to move approximately 22 additional snow plows to Moore County from other counties in our area to assist here with snow removal efforts and they will continue to work around the clock until the routes are clear. With the additional equipment NCDOT has approximately 39 snow plows working in Moore County Sunday according to DOT officials.

If you are driving on the roads today or Monday please use caution. Watch for patches of ice and drive the appropriate speed for the current road conditions. Plan ahead and allow more time to arrive at your destination. Increase following distances between the vehicle in front of you and watch for vehicles pulling out into or braking in the roadway.