Treacherous commute expected Friday

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - The incoming winter storm could mean a treacherous commute on Friday.

The advice to drivers: set your alarms a little earlier and plan on adding some extra time for your drive.

"It's always easy to go. The problem is stopping," said Ray Herne, spokesperson for Intelligent Transportation Systems at the New Mexico Department of Transportation. "We urge people to be prepared for it.”

The National Weather Service is monitoring the storm as it comes in.

The weather will mean much-needed moisture in the ongoing dry spell, but that could spell trouble for drivers.

"Many of us are a little out of practice for dealing with wet pavement,” said Tim Shy, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Albuquerque. “The cautions you'd have on a rainy day would probably apply in this case as well."

The travel warning is not only for the morning commute.

"You may find it's just rain and wet on the way into town, but on the way home, if you're going over that higher country, you may find rain in the morning turned into snow by the afternoon," he said.