POCONOS – We got a bit of pre-Halloween snow last year.  That was nothing compared to what some forecasts say is likely to happen Saturday, with the potential of some higher elevations getting a foot of heavy, wet snow.

With snow and colder temperatures appearing in some local forecasts, State Transportation Secretary Barry Schoch announced that PennDOT's final winter preparations are being made and more than 2,200 trucks and 5,400 operators will be ready to tackle winter's worst.

"Overall, PennDOT plows nearly 40,000 miles of roadways, about the same number of miles maintained by New York, New Jersey and all the New England states combined, making ours the largest system in a major snow-belt," Schoch said. "With this huge number of miles, our primary goal must be to keep roads passable, not necessarily completely free of ice and snow."

Heavy wet snow this early can cause particular problems because in some areas, there are still leaves on many trees.  That increases the danger of falling limbs and downed power lines.