FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – Multiple departments across Fort Wayne prepared Tuesday to get ahead of early Wednesday’s likely winter storm. The Department of Homeland Security has issued a Travel Watch.

The Fort Wayne Street Department began preparing Tuesday morning by making sure they had enough materials to last throughout the storm. The department also began to pretreat the streets. Brian Shimkus, Street Commissioner for the City of Fort Wayne, said this helps crews by putting a little barrier between the snow and the pavement.

“It also buys us a little bit of time,” Shimkus said. “It might give us an hour or two before the roads start to look bad.”

Shimkus said the Street Department plans to work 24 to 48 hours straight to keep streets clear as much as possible.

This isn’t the first storm Allen County has seen this winter. Bernie Beier, Director of Homeland Security in Allen County, said Wednesday’s storm will be much different than the winter blast we saw just before Christmas.

With temperatures being higher in this storm, Beier said it will be easier for crews to treat the streets. It also means that if you have to wait a little while for help, you won’t be immediately in danger of freezing in your car. But with the snow amounts, Beier said it does present it’s own set of challenges.

“You slide into six inches of snow, you’re probably not getting out of that without a tow truck, but again things can slow down and we can think and manage that risk a little bit more reasonable tomorrow from a weather standpoint, the conditions that we expect to be presented with,” Beier said.

He said this storm will be short-lived but more intense. He advises all who can to stay home until it passes. If you can’t, Beier says to plan as if you will get stuck, pack blankets, snacks, and make sure your car has at least half a tank of gas in it.

Beier says it dosn’t matter if you’ve been a Hoosier for six months or 60 years, it’s important to take the storm seriously.

“Just because you’ve done it before doesn’t mean you can ignore the warnings and not be weather ready,” Beier said. “What you did the last time might not be the best decision this time.”

Beier says he doesn’t expect to issue a Travel Warning unless something unexpected happens.