Snow returns to Northern Nevada - briefly

Friday¹s winter weather will move out today replaced with highs in the high

50s and in the mid 60s on Sunday. By Monday, temps may be back up in the low

70s. The low will be in the 30s tonight, Sunday and Monday.

But don¹t put away those down blankets yet as Old Man Winter could be back

as soon as Tuesday night.

Though Friday's storm meant road controls on mountain passes in the morning, by evening roads were reported clear and open with no controls by the Nevada Department of Transportation and CalTrans, except for Highway 395 through Washoe Valley which was under a wind warning.

NDOT officials say their 160 full and part-time maintenance personnel are ready to keep the more than 4,200 miles of road under its care free of snow and ice.

Other NDOT Winter snow removal efforts for October 2006 through May 2007 included:

Reno/Virginia City area

• 10,750 man hours used in snow removal

• 8,500 cubic yards of salt/sand

• 200,000 gallons of brine

Carson City area

• 19,000 man hours used in snow removal

• 4,000 cubic yards of salt/sand

• 67,000 gallons of brine

Fallon/Hawthorne/Lovelock area

• 4,800 man hours used in snow removal

• 5,700 cubic yards of salt/sand

• 93,500 gallons of brine

Fernley/Yerington/Wellington/Nixon area

• 4,000 man hours used in snow removal

• 5,700 cubic yards of salt/sand

• 57,000 gallons of brine

The Nevada Department of Transportation utilizes numerous technologies to keep winter roads clear, including manufacturing brine.

NDOT's in-house brine solution of 2.3 pounds salt to one gallon of water is mixed with a 75 percent sand and 25 percent salt combination to produce a wetter, heavier sand that will not as readily be thrown off roadway surfaces. Brine is also sprayed on wet road surfaces prior to snowfall to delay ice pack build up.