Winter Storm Landon's particular mix of rain and ice made it impossible to pre-treat roads Wednesday and Thursday. That meant the Department of Transportation had a lot of work when the slow-moving storm hit Ohio.
As of Friday morning, ODOT crews had driven 421,953 miles in 24 hours, nearly enough to make a round trip to the moon, according to the agency's press secretary Matt Bruning.
To put it another way, that's about 17 trips around the world at the equator.
Bruning said that although the storm has passed, travel is still dangerous and motorists should stay home if they can.
Live updates:Road conditions, power outages, flights and more
"It's going to be a tough battle to fight with Mother Nature to get these roads clear," he said.
ODOT is responsible for clearing nearly all the interstates in Ohio and many roads that don't fall under the jurisdiction of municipalities. The interstates alone total 43,000 miles.
Bruning said the warnings from the National Weather Service helped keep many people safe and at home Thursday. On Monday, ODOT met with the agency and got a full briefing on what they thought would happen. Bruning said this allowed them to have a good plan in place.
"My hat is off to the meteorologists," he said. "They nailed it as good as they could."
While the Cincinnati area saw a mix of snow and ice, other parts of the state are facing different challenges. Bruning said in the southeast, it's flooding, and in the north, it's very heavy snow.
Check the list:What are the snow emergency levels in Cincinnati and surrounding counties?
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Bruning said he expects the roads to be better Friday than they were Thursday, but "that's a pretty low bar."
He said staying home Friday will assist in making sure the roads are cleared as quickly as possible. While many people remained home Thursday, there were still several snow plows struck by motorists across the state.
"It really helps our crews out tremendously when people stay off the roads," he said.
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