"We're going to have treacherous conditions:" Snow covered roads could lead to tricky travel overnight

WASHINGTON COUNTY (WITI) -- Even if you are a good driver, there is one thing you cannot control -- road conditions. The freeways were snow covered and slick for most of the day on Thursday, and now with nighttime and the blowing snow, navigating can still be tough.

There are about 20 trucks out on Washington County roads right now salting and plowing. It stopped snowing in Milwaukee around 7 p.m., but strong winds keep blowing the snow back onto the road.

You can see them coming through the white haze of winter -- headlights breaking big bursts of snow on one Washington County road.

They're roads locals have been traveling all night slow and steady.

At the county highway department, Tom Wondra is getting his team ready for what could be a messy evening.

"We're going to have treacherous conditions all night long. Blowing snow is going to create a problem right back on to the roads," said Wondra.

Wondra's responsible for clearing 200 lane miles of state and county highways. Wondra says it takes three hours for one truck to clear its designated area.

At a gas station Danielle Nogalski is getting ready to hit the highway and brave the long slow ride home.

"Normally on a good day it's 20 minutes. I'm sure it will be longer than that," said Nogalski.

Between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m. alone, the sheriff's office reports 26 crashes and 16 spin-outs.

Representatives from the highway department there tell FOX6 News, 60 trucks will be out salting and plowing until the storm passes.

In Ozaukee County, officials tell us a full staff of 26 trucks will continue sweeps Thursday night, and all will be back out on the road at 4 a.m. on Friday.

"The public really has to remember when it's this cold out, salt really isn't working that well," said Wondra.

The accidents dotting Wisconsin's white winter roads serve as a reminder to many of the difficulty in just getting home.

One man FOX6 News spoke with works at a service shop -- he says the biggest problem he's seen the past few days is car batteries dying in these frigid temps. He says he's selling about 10 new batteries a day.