When weather threatens travel, showing always beats telling

By Steve Elliott / ADOT Communications

If you follow ADOT's Facebook and Twitter accounts, and we hope you do, you're probably familiar with the name Mark Trennepohl after a snowstorm hit Arizona's high country on Saturday.

Mark, our statewide road weather manager, filed 15 video reports from Interstate 40 and Interstate 17 near Flagstaff, combining an on-the-ground view with his inimitable perspective on conditions and ADOT's efforts to keep highways open and protect travelers. A video, showing an ADOT TowPlow in action, was extremely popular with Facebook and Twitter followers.

His goal, which is also our goal in ADOT Communications when weather threatens: helping drivers make informed decisions on whether and when to travel. Here's another video in which Mark explains a significant traffic backup on northbound I-17 climbing out of the Verde Valley.

Views from our traffic cameras are always helpful, as you'll see in this Facebook post.

But there's a great deal happening beyond those views. That's why we're grateful to those working in the high country who took time to share photos and videos of weather, roadway and traffic conditions. That includes Thomas Eckler Jr. of our North Central District, who shared photos and a video of plows at work on SR 87, including those featured in this popular Facebook post.

Travelers benefited from photos including these shared by Mackenzie Kirby, a Flagstaff-based ADOT Communications staff member.

Mackenzie also shared photos and an ADOT Blog post explaining why travelers see white stripes on some highways before snowstorms.

There's a lot to be gained from visiting ADOT's Facebook and Twitter accounts early and often when snow and other threatening weather is in the forecast. Posts you'll find there show that communication is very much a team effort across ADOT's locations and divisions.