The latest local news, weather and high school sports in and around Columbia and Jefferson City

Mid-Missourians can expect to see some freezing rain and snow tonight into tomorrow morning, and crews are preparing to handle the wintry weather.

Director of Cole County Public Works Larry Benz said right now his crews are monitoring the weather to see how the system progresses.

He said that while they want to pre-treat the roads, if there is a lot of rain it will just wash away.

"If it's not much rain we'll be able to get out and pre-salt and put material down to keep it from glazing over once the sleet starts," he said.

Benz said his crews are on call 24 hours a day, and once the call is made they can be ready to work in 20-30 minutes.

Over at Westlake Ace Hardware in Jefferson City, floor manager Jason Barton said he saw an increase in customers this afternoon, as people started to learn that there was a winter storm system headed this way.

Barton said that the most important thing to have in the winter is a 20-pound bag of snow melt.

"You can use it on concrete, wood, it won't hurt it. It's not actual salt like people say but it's safe for all those surfaces," he said.

Benz expressed the need for drivers to exercise caution when hitting the roads, especially on bridges and overpasses.

"There's no way of telling what looks to be wet and then all of the sudden you find out you may have a glazed spot, especially on bridges and overpasses...slow down before you get to bridges...not on them," he said.