TOPEKA (AP) — Gov. Sam Brownback is getting a firsthand look at the state’s efforts to clear highways amid the winter storm that has closed schools and state government offices.

Brownback hopped aboard a Kansas Department of Transportation snowplow Tuesday afternoon to observe snow removal on Interstate 70 west of Topeka.

Forecasters were predicting up to a foot of snow in northeast Kansas. Brownback said his decision on whether to reopen state offices Wednesday will rest partly on whether winds are causing snowdrifts.

Brownback said he rode the KDOT plow to observe snow removal firsthand. He planned to travel about 15 miles on I-70 to the exit for the town of Maple Hill, then return to Topeka for a late-afternoon briefing at the State Emergency Operations Center.