No matter where you live or where you operate, people have come to expect that they can get where they need to go, whenever they need to go. And while snow and ice may be more common up north, winter weather isn't just a northern problem.

States in the South don't deal with winter storms nearly as often, so building and maintaining a strong snow and ice program takes a little different approach.

About this time last year, Emily Fish, Assistant State Maintenance Engineer for Emergency Operations with the Georgia DOT, mentioned they were launching snow school to help get maintenance crews ready for winter weather.

It's time to check in with Emily and welcome Mitch Garmon, Maintenance Liaison in Emergency Operations, to the conversation to hear how things are going, what they've learned over the past year, and how Georgia DOT continues to build its winter operations capabilities.

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Thanks for listening in and stay safe out there!

Every agency has gone through it. Perfect planning for winter, perfect preparation for that first storm, then mother nature sends a curve ball, all the planets line up and all the little things add up to a big thing. That’s what happened December 1st, 2025 to the Missouri DOT in the St. Louis area.

Becky Allmeroth, Chief Safety and Operations Officer at the Missouri DOT sets the stage and tells the story and aftermath of this first of the season storm.

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Thanks for listening in and stay safe out there!

On this episode were going to showcase the work of a couple of innovative maintenance professionals long time friend and listener, Phillip Anderle turned me on to at the last APWA Western Snow and Ice Conference. These two guys created a winter app for smart phones and tablets that makes gathering storm response data from the crews much easer and checks it for accuracy before it gets input into the Cities asset management system.

District Supervisor Corey Rivera and equipment operator and Inspector Zach Mackey aren’t computer nerds, just a couple guys who plow snow and had an idea to make their paperwork process faster, easier, and better for themselves and others in the paperwork chain. With access to some common computer software, and a little computer savvy they’ve put together an amazing tool to make life a little simpler and a whole lot easer.

You can reach out to Corey at Corey.Rivera@coloradosprings.gov to learn more about their creation. In the mean time listen in as Corey and Zach are Talkin' Winter Ops.

Sign up for email notifications on future episodes and other communications associated with winter maintenance and winter weather management by clicking on subscribe on the Talkin' Winter Ops website at TalkinWinterOps.com

Thanks for listening in and stay safe out there!