COLUMBIA, S.C. — After a few days off, utility crews across the Midlands are preparing for another winter weather storm in less than a week.
City of Columbia director of Emergency Management Harry Tinsley said crews are, "recharged and ready to go."
He said the city is partnering with South Carolina Emergency Management Division (SCEMD), fire departments, and law enforcement as the storm heads towards the capital city.
"We're collaborating with everybody and we're hoping for limited, very limited short delays, short duration of impacts," said Tinsley.
Starting Thursday night, SCDOT crews are going into 24-hour operations, getting ready for whatever type of weather comes.
"Heavy downpours of rain can be like dangerous people, you know, get into accidents during that so we still have crews in the Midlands ready. There's ice predicted for the Pee Dee area, we’ll have you know crews there," said SCDOT's Brittany Harriot.
Unlike last week, SCDOT is treating the roads with hard rock salt first as the rain washes away salt brine.
Predicted ice means possible power outages. Matt Long with Dominion Energy says if power does go out crews will be ready to go.
"They are gonna be on standby once it is safe to go out they’ll work to restore that power as quickly and as safely as possible until that las outage is finished," said Long.
Long recommends downloading the Dominion Energy app, so you can report power outages in your area. Dominion Energy updates outages on their website as well.
"Never assume your neighbor has reported it, or that we already know about an outage," said Long.
On Sunday many residents faced broken tree limbs and downed power lines. This time around, the freezing cold temperatures could prove for new challenges like broken pipes and water main breaks.
“Typically we will see some broken water mains and things of that nature due to the freeze and sometimes that comes immediately, or sometimes that comes after you know the temperatures start to go up on Saturday," said Tinsley. "When we get into the 40's those kinds of calls for service tend to tend to spike”
Tinsley said Columbia Water staff is fully prepared to handle any damage the storm brings.
Insulating your pipes and running your water periodically can help prevent pipes from bursting.
As always, officials urge you to avoid driving on roads if possible and avoid going near downed power lines.
For more information on who to call to report storm damage, go to the City of Columbia's website.