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More than 700 days since the Triad's last big snow, families and cities prepare

Some parents said remote learning isn't necessary on a snow day, while transportation officials hope for a quieter day on the roads due to the pandemic.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — It's been a while since serious snow fell in the Triad.

Plows and salt trucks won't have to worry about school buses out and about as many Triad districts moved to remote learning or canceled classes ahead of Friday's snow.

Greensboro street crews start their day at midnight Friday, ready to work as soon as flakes start to stick.

Meanwhile, many parents and students will balance remote learning on a snow day.

Many remember snowfalls in December 2018 and February of 2020 but winter weather in a pandemic will be a little different.

"We'll obviously be slower of operations a little bit in terms of additional time to clean and disinfect the trucks, staggering shifts," Mike Mabe said.

Mabe is the Streets Division Manager for the City of Greensboro. He said Greensboro did not pretreat streets with brine due to early forecasts which called for rain before the snow. Mabe said the brine will wash away if the road gets wet before the snow sticks.

NCDOT did pretreat highways and interstates around the Triad.

Greensboro, Winston-Salem and High Point all have salt trucks prepped and ready to go.

Transportation officials are hoping for a socially distant snow storm, with fewer people on the roads due to the pandemic.

"I hope the schools are prepared for some virtual learning perhaps and they won't have all the buses out there," said John Rhyne.

Rhyne is a Maintenance Engineer for NCDOT Division 9.

Guilford County Schools will have a remote learning day. Parents like Liza Moberg would have preferred canceled classes.

She also worries remote learning days could replace canceled classes for snow.

"This might be it, we might not see any other snow the rest of the year and it's not that big of a deal to say we're just gonna have a snow day tomorrow," Moberg said.

"Just being able to enjoy the snow gives them a sense of normalcy," Tiara Baker said.

Baker is a mother and a Guilford County Kindergarten teacher. Her students' only assignment Friday is to write about their time in the snow.

Both mothers said kids should be able to be kids and enjoy the snow, but Baker said she doesn't think losing snow days is all bad.

"It doesn't add on days at the end of the school year and two, I get to do it from home. I don't have to worry about getting up extra early and trying to fight the not so safe road conditions," Baker said.

Transportation officials suggest waiting to leave home until midday if you travel in the snow. Morning and evening commutes could be messy.

RELATED: Winter Storm Warning: Snow on the way for the Triad

RELATED: List: Schools switching to remote learning, or closing Friday due to snowy forecast

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