LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) -- This potential White Christmas has a lot of people preparing from grocery stores to hotels to highway crews.

On Christmas Eve, traffic was moving smoothly through Little Rock, but the scene is always much more different when snow or ice comes into the mix. I-40 becomes a bit more hazardous, and the pace slows considerably.

The Highway Department is cautioning all drivers to be aware of slick roads Christmas night into Wednesday morning.

Spokesperson Randy Ort said because Central Arkansas is expecting rain, crews cannot pre-treat the pavement, but highway crews are on standby like they were in February this year when several parts of Arkansas had ice on bridges.

Ort said they have plenty of equipment and up to a $6 million budget.

"We keep materials stockpiled year round. That won't be an issue. Equipment in most areas has already been checked out. We had one small event in central Arkansas and north Arkansas and have already been out," said Ort.

As far as grocery store preparing, Edward's Food Giant on Cantrell Road saw a steady stream of customers on Christmas Eve.

Manager of the Food Giant on Cantrell Road in Little Rock, Ron Davis, says milk and bread aren't flying off the shelves just yet, but he expects more to come in after the possible snow begins to melt.

Entergy is also monitoring the system. The company has its own forecasters and is working closely with the National Weather Service. Line workers are also on standby.

Here's a statement from Entergy Arkansas:

Entergy Arkansas, Inc. has been monitoring the system even before windstorm outages were restored. We have our own forecasters who continually monitor weather conditions and we also work closely with John Robinson, warning meteorologist with the National Weather Service in North Little Rock. While ice is not predicted, Entergy Arkansas teams have been put on notice about the Christmas Day conditions that include snow and possible mixture of rain/sleet/snow for some areas. We're prepared and will continue to monitor the situation.

Pam Baccam will have more about winter weather preparations tonight on THV 11 News at 6.