Forecasters say Georgia is due for a mild winter. But the Georgia Department of Transportation says it’s ready to keep state roads clear if the weather turns bad.

With winter approaching, the agency says it has stockpiled brine, gravel and other supplies.

“GDOT continues to enhance its preparations for extreme winter weather to treat impacted interstates and highways before, during and after a snow or icing event,” Larry Barnes, assistant maintenance engineer, said in a statement released Wednesday.

GDOT says it can produce 50,000 gallons of brine per hour to treat state highways and can store 885,500 gallons. It also has 71,286 tons of gravel, more than 53,000 tons of salt, 386 snow plows and 80 pickup trucks with plows and spreaders.

Will GDOT need those supplies? It’s hard to tell. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecasts warmer-than-average temperatures this winter, and average precipitation.

But this is Georgia. Don’t like the weather forecast? Stick around. It’ll change.

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Austin Walters died from an overdose in 2021 after taking a Xanax pill laced with fentanyl, his father said. A new law named after Austin and aimed at preventing deaths from fentanyl has resulted in its first convictions in Georgia, prosecutors said. (Family photo)

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