In anticipation of the winter snowfalls, Baltimore officials have announced a $1.5 million snow budget, and said they are ready for whatever Mother Nature dumps on the city this season.

"We're always monitoring," said Adrienne D. Barnes, spokeswoman for the city's Office of Transportation. "Whenever we hear snow might be coming, we have crews accessible at the drop of a hat."

The city has 158 drivers available at any time, 279 trucks and 17,000 tons of salt stored in domes at a maintenance facility near Hampden, Barnes said.

The drivers and trucks would be borrowed from the Department of Recreation and Parks and Solid Waste.

When they hear reports that snow is expected, city officials order that salt truck drivers be on call in the four quadrants of the city.

The budget and resources are the same as the past several years, Barnes said.

Snow had been predicted by forecasters this week, but the flakes never fell in Baltimore. If a storm were to happen, workers would pay extra attention to the Jones Falls Expressway and the interstates, she said, because those are the most traveled roads into and out of downtown Baltimore.

"More than 100,000 people use the Beltway every day," Barnes said. "We give it special attention."

She said workers will salt the roads before snow begins to fall to avoid icy conditions.

The city has a Web site, www.396snow.com, which has safety tips and emergency numbers for companies such as BGE and Verizon. In addition, the city has set up a snow emergency phone line at 410-396- SNOW (7669).