BOISE – Southwest Idaho snow service crews monitored the weather closely Sunday night, ready for changing conditions.
It was rain coming down late Sunday, but forecasters said their main concern was temperatures dropping, turning the rain into ice on some of the roads.
A tricky spot in the valley for ice is at the bottom of the Boise foothills.
Brett Hays lives near the intersection of Starcrest and Warm Springs. He said that area can get pretty icy.
Drivers often slide in this area because of all the snow and rain that melts and then freezes at the bottom of the hill.
“The way the water comes down the road instead of staying on the side, the way the road is made, it kind of fans out and so especially if people are braking it just seems to make it real slick down there,” said Hays.
When snow plows and sand trucks head out into the Boise foothills, they also work other icy spots.
Residents like Paul Dehlin who live at the top of the foothills know about dangerous areas as well.
Dehlin, who lives on Red Stone Drive, deals with slick roads by placing sandbags in his truck bed and using some winter driving tricks.
“Coast through the slick spots, don't gun your engine when you think you are on ice and put weight in the back of your truck,” said Dehlin.
The Ada County Highway District says snow maintenance crews will arrive at work at 2 a.m. to put down a layer of deicer on the roads. However, if the rain keeps up they will not because the deicer will just get washed away.
Sunday, the Idaho Department of Transportation also had crews monitoring roads.
One plow driver working at the IDT shed on Orchard said he was set to lay deicer on the I-184 connector around 7 p.m. Sunday night.
