CLEVELAND (WJW) - Officials with the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) are preparing to have their plow drivers out for another round of snow hitting Wednesday night and lasting through Thursday.

Many plow drivers have been working 12-hour shifts since Thanksgiving due to the many feet of snow already falling mainly in Lake and Ashtabula counties.

"It was good for them to get a quick break before this next round of snow hits," Brent Kovacs said.

Kovacs is the public information officer for ODOT's District 12.

He told FOX 8 that, even with the state of emergency issued by Governor Mike DeWine, ODOT will remain focused on its usual priority, which is keeping main highways passable.

"Primarily we need to focus on those interstates, the roads with the most amount of traffic, the most amount of traffic, the most amount of commercial traffic to keep goods moving across the state," Kovacs said.

Drivers will be back on 12-hour shifts starting Wednesday night, but that doesn't necessarily mean the roads will be perfect Thursday morning. The timing of the snowfall will dictate everything, Kovacs said.

"If you leave at 7:30 and a squall comes through at 7:30, the roads are going to look bad. If you miss it by 10 minutes, the roads could be running wet," he said. "So, it really depends on when that squall comes off the lake or comes off from the west to the east. We're going to be doing our best working around the clock plowing and salting."

Kovacs wants to remind drivers that, for most, this will be the first big snow of the season that they're seeing. He urges drivers to remind themselves how to drive in the snow. That means leaving early, going slow and giving plow drivers extra room to work.