STONEHAM, MASS. (WHDH) - Officials are urging the public to stay off the roadways as a wintry mix packing freezing rain and sleet creates slick road conditions across the Bay State on Friday.
Colder air moving down from the northwest is causing a changeover of rain to freezing rain and sleet in Massachusetts.
RELATED: Warnings, advisories in effect as winter storm brings freezing rain, sleet to Mass.
The Baker-Polito administration on Thursday urged non-emergency state workers to stay home and avoid traveling on Friday due to an expected flash freeze.
MassDOT Highway Administrator Jonathan Gulliver also urged the public to stay off the roadways because the morning, afternoon, and evening commutes have the “potential to be horrible.” He added that if people must travel, to do so with extreme caution.
Crews struggled to treat the roads on Friday due to rain that was changing over to snow and back again.
“Crews are dealing with a challenging storm that is changing from rain to snow and back again which reduces the effectiveness of treatment,” Gulliver said. “Roads are icy in many areas. Please avoid driving if possible and reduce speed and use caution if you must be on the roadways.”
Numerous spinouts were reported throughout the Bay State during the morning commute.
At the massive salt pile in Chelsea, bulldozers could be seen dumping salt into trucks for transport across New England.
Eastern Salt has been trucking out up to 12,000 pounds of salt a day, according to manager Cornelius Martine.
“I think salt demand will be just as heavy, or heavier than it would be for a snowstorm,” said Martine.
Travel conditions are expected to remain slick through the evening commute.
Visit the 7Weather page for the latest weather updates.
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