LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer hosted what he hoped would be his last winter storm briefing of the year on Thursday. National Weather Service Chief Meteorologist John Gordon joined him and said drivers need to take caution day and night.

"Freezing drizzle’s not good, so slow down!" he exclaimed, as a giant thermal map of Kentucky projected behind him. "If you want to do something, if you’re gonna go out — I would advise you not to, but if you’re gonna go out — slow down on those roadways. You hit a patch of freezing drizzle, and it is not going to be good at all. It’s the sneaky hazard we talk about."

Fischer praised the city's road crews, who turned snowy streets to slush. Calcium chloride spread on the ground broke down as much frozen precipitation as it could. Now, as warmer weather arrives next week, a new concern looms for Public Works Director Vanessa Burns.

"If you’re gonna [shovel] your sidewalk, try to at least do the catch basin as well," she said. "When the snow starts melting, it’s gotta have a place to go. If you don’t clear those out, it’s gonna create flooding conditions."

Before this cold snap approaches, temperatures are expected to drop again on Friday.

"Tomorrow night’s the real cold night of the last episode," Gordon said. "We could be in the single digits."

The city reached an unwanted milestone on Wednesday, as Louisville Water Company spokesperson Kelley Dearing Smith described the work crews have been putting in to answer service calls.

"We had 18 water main breaks that we repaired," she said. "That's the highest number of water main breaks that we've repaied in well over two years in one day."

Smith encouraged homeowners to insulate pipes and open doors to allow heat near them. She added that running a small amount of cold water on especially brisk days is OK.