Where are the Ohio people?

[gord]

Having left Ohio to come home to England last year, the people from Ohio on here said that when winter weather returns, they'll be on here updating.

From reports i've seen on the net, winter has returned to Ohio....but everyone is strangely quiet from there!

From what i can tell from traffic webcams and various official reports, its a very cold spell of weather but fairly dry...is this correct?

Maybe its still not cold enough for them!

Whats going on over there in Columbus and surrounding places then?

[Miss Mary]

Hey Gord!

Winter has arrived in Cincinnati/Ohio Valley. And how!

Previously (mid-Dec. until early to mid Jan.) several ski resorts within an hours drive of Cincinnati, struggled with very warm temps and tremendous rainfall. But then temps turned colder and right now, they are downright frigid. So the resorts are loving it, no doubt. Full swing, 100% open, etc.

No real snowstorm to speak of has happened - yet. Hopefully. The most we've received in one storm was 3 inches. But mostly it's been 1/2 to 1 inch, here and there. Snowshowers that look impressive, but do not accumulate much.

Cincinnati's forecast:
http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/fin ... uery=45255

Columbus forecast:
http://www.wunderground.com/cgi-bin/fin ... us%2C+ohio

Mary

[gord]

Thanks for the update Mary, good to hear from you! looks the coldest its been there since Jan 2005, which was the coldest i've experienced in my life. (Coldest that i've known in England since i followed the weather in the mid 90's is 15F)

We are having a very mild winter...last night was only our 5th frost this autumn/winter!

But we have a chance of a big snowstorm this week....potentially the largest one England has seen in 16 years...but its very very touch and go and we've come this close many times before before its all gone wrong...so chances are slim!

I see a clipper is due over Ohio on Tuesday which may give a quick inch or 2...in January 2005, the cold spell came to an end with a half decent snowfall if i remember correctly, (right at the end of the month)....so i suppose your hoping for something like that again...but more!

[dawgpound]

Hi Gord,
Mansfield, OH is -2 with windchill of -15. Very little snow this winter.

[carve]

Very cold here in central ohio..little snow on the ground,but wind chills 5 to 10 below zero...schools closed already for tomorrow!!Expecting some decent snow tues..and this winter,, decent means a few inches!!

[senorpepr]

Having left Ohio to come home to England last year, the people from Ohio on here said that when winter weather returns, they'll be on here updating.

The Ohio people are still crying over their Ohio State University football team's bowl appearance.

[leenita]

I am in Lewis Center which is just north of Columbus and it is 4 degrees with a windchill of -15 degrees. We do not have alot of snow but they are saying a clipper will move in Tuesday with 1-3 inches. And alot of wind. 95% of the schools are closed tomorrow due to temps.

[gatorcane]

Having left Ohio to come home to England last year, the people from Ohio on here said that when winter weather returns, they'll be on here updating.

The Ohio people are still crying over their Ohio State University football team's bowl appearance.

Yeah I know...(check out my avatar!)

and also all of their Internet connections have probably frozen....

[ohiostorm]

Having left Ohio to come home to England last year, the people from Ohio on here said that when winter weather returns, they'll be on here updating.

The Ohio people are still crying over their Ohio State University football team's bowl appearance.

Very true. I cry every night into my Troy Smith jersey.. JK. Anyways... we havent had much of a winter yet. Most of December was very mild. Just within the last few weeks we started seeing snow showers almost everyday. Which still dont amount to too much accumulation. I doubt we are nowhere close to a foot for the year in East Central Ohio. Right now we are dealing with the deep freeze with temps in the single digits and wind chills below zero.

[Miss Mary]

Hey Gord! Maybe you brought us a little good luck here in the Ohio Valley. Since you asked about our winter......we have a Winter Storm Watch posted now, for Tuesday afternoon into Wednesday morning. Anywhere from 3 to 5 inches might accumulate. Stayed tuned for further updates!

http://www.wlwt.com/weather/10902578/detail.html

Thanks!

Mary

[gord]

Just noticed that Mary, and a snow advisory for Columbus...as recently, Cincinnati looks like faring better than Columbus.

As for us, our snow chances are on the increase with the potential of heavy snow increasing across England and still the potential for being the largest snowstorm in 16 years across parts of the country...and for once, i am in a very good location! Looking like it could happen Thursday to Saturday....now i would be very happy if i made it back to England in time for that! (Could still be rain though!)

Keep me posted and i'll be watching those webcams over there!

[Miss Mary]

Change that to Heavy Snow Warning now (someone so kindly posted the alert on a separate thread). Hoping you receive measurable snowfall too Gord.

People here that love snow have been more than ready. School kids can just about taste a snowday!

[breeze]

LOL, hey, Gord! An Ohio couple are currently living next-door to me, where
they reside from the last weekend in November until about mid-March! This
is their winter home. We had an inch of snow this past Friday, and, temps
have been well down close to the teens, at night. I'm afraid they're getting
a taste of the cold here, as well!

I wish you SNOW!

~Annette~

[Miss Mary]

Annette - they didn't move far enough south, now did they? LOL!!!

We have friends who wanted to move north, from the Tampa area. Wife is from Tennessee and husband is from Cincinnati. Somewhere in between would be nice, they said, so they can juggle holiday family get togethers. When I heard Lexington, KY mentioned, I said, watch out, they get snow. My husband looked at me as if I was from Mars. I guess he thought 2 hours south of Cincinnati would be balmy in Winter? he he And yes, over the years when KY gets more measurable snowfall than we do, I like to remind him of this little fact. Meanwhile, the wife of this couple isn't too pleased, b/c she misses Florida winters!

I don't think I'll ever want to move south to escape winter. It will be more like - let's move north honey? LOL

Mary

[gord]

Lol Mary!

it's loking good for you guys anyway. Cincinnati should do better than Columbus as it has done recently.

(And as if on que, the met ofice have just issued our first warning of heavy snow for Thursday...but more of that in global weather!)

Trying to remember that you are 5 hours behind me...so its not worth checking the webcams for a little while yet!

[dawgpound]

... Record low temperature tied at Mansfield...

At 657 am... the temperature at the Mansfield lahm Airport dropped to
6 degrees below zero. This ties the record low temperature which was
originally set in 1988.

[therock1811]

About 5" in Florence...good powdery snow...

[therock1811]

Airport in Cincinnati says they've had 6 and a half inches. Everyone nailed this one dead on based on snow totals I have seen thus far.

[Miss Mary]

About 6 inches out here in Anderson. Our school district is closed today so I am off work! And my daughter is of course off school. There are so many closings today, even day care facilities. I read that the Univ. of Cincinnati would have a delayed start of 10 a.m. That was about the only school still having classes today! Wait, WNKU in N. KY where you attend Jeremy is having a delayed start of noon.

Jeremy - agree. They called this storm accurately. I watched it start and by 2, 2:30 and 3 it was picking up in intensity. That is when Operation Snow went into effect I believe. Our Mayor asked gov. offices and large downtown corporations to release employees early. One employee was interviewed on the news, he said something to this effect - "they told us to leave early, go get our kids, go home, stay home and chili". Only problem was, all of these employees hit the interstates about at the same time as snowplows and salt trucks did. The trucks couldn't do their jobs b/c there were so many cars stuck in traffic. I saw a live update at 10 p.m. last night. I 75 in Northern Kentucky was still all backed up!

Mary

[Miss Mary]

Here's a good summary, in today's Cincinnati Enquirer:

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ ... /302070006

Getting to work easier
Record snowfall left its mark

BY JENNIFER BAKER AND AMANDA VAN BENSCHOTEN | JBAKER@ENQUIRER.COM; AVANBENSCHOTEN@NKY.COM

Getting to work this morning is a lot easier than it was getting home last night in the snowstorm. But there are still some nasty spots.

On average, most areas saw 5 to 7 inches of snow, according to the National Weather Service.

The official tally of 6.4 inches of snow at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport broke a record for daily snowfall set in 1972, when 5.5 inches of snow fell in one day.

Today is expected to be mostly sunny with a high of 22 degrees. No snow in the forecast.

With temperatures expected to stay in the 20s this week, the snow isn't going to melt anytime soon.

Cincinnati Public Schools is among the many districts closed today because of the weather. The district had problems getting some children home Tuesday in the snow and heavy traffic, said spokeswoman Janet Walsh. The district did not dismiss early.

A bus for Clark Montessori High School on Erie Avenue in Hyde Park didn't drop off all its students until between 10 p.m. and 10:30 p.m., she said. She estimated fewer than 10 students were affected.

Colleges and universities are delaying the start of classses.

Crews at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport worked through the night to clear snow from ramps and runways. The airport is open this morning and reports no significant delays.

"Things are going very well," said airport spokesman Ted Bushelman. "Basically, everything that is needed is open."

About 200 people slept on cots at the airport last night, after about 15 percent of the airport's flights were canceled and nearby hotel rooms were booked.

But flights are running mostly on schedule this morning, though Bushelman cautions flyers to call their travel agents or airlines in advance.

Traffic on interstates is moving slow today with some areas getting heavy and a few minor accidents, according to ARTIMIS.

"It's not the gridlock we had last night. People are taking their time getting to where they are going," said Brian Butler, an ARTIMIS traffic information manager.

But travel times likely will double as rush hour hits this morning.

A drive from West Chester Township to downtown Cincinnati, for example, that would normally take about 20 minutes will take at least 10 minutes more now, potentially longer later, said Tim Schoch, ARTIMIS spokesman.

A commute from Florence in Northern Kentucky to downtown Cincinnati will take about a half hour, an extra 10 to 15 minutes, he said.

Motorists shouldn't see delays such as late Tuesday, when there was a two-hour delay on southbound Interstate 71 from Red Bank Road to the Ohio River, he noted.

Most roads in Northern Kentucky remain partially or mostly covered. Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties remain under a Level 2 Snow Emergency, which means people should not drive unless it's absolutely necessary.

Dispatch and public works personnel say people are following that order this morning, for the most part. Most school districts have also canceled classes for the day.

"That's a big, big plus," said Erlanger Public Works Superintendent Rick Bogard. "Things are looking pretty good right now, for the most part."

His crews worked through the night to clear the city's roads, and will continue all day today.

"We should have some pretty significant melting here, once we get the sun out working in conjunction with the salt," he said.

Delays will continue on secondary and side roads.

"Right now, knock on wood, people are staying in," said Boone County Dispatcher Barbara Woods. "People just need to be careful and let the road crews do their jobs."

In Cincinnati, if workers can stay home, they should, said Greg Ayers, the city's supervisor of traffic and road operations.

All the primary roads have been plowed and treated with salt and a light dose of calcium but not all are clear and there's still slick spots, he said. The low temperatures combined with quick falling snow covered roads like "a blanket" and hurt efforts to completely clear streets, he noted.

"Downtown still has some snow on the streets but we've been treating them all night," he said. "With the snow coming out today, that should help. We have been out all night and will be out 24-7 til we get it done. We've had about 60 dump trucks and about 20 pickups out."

The Cincinnatian Hotel downtown on Vine Street completely sold out its 147 rooms and even broke some of its larger suites into two separate rooms to house extra guests, said Troy Miller, the front desk clerk. On a typical evening, the hotel would only have been about 80 percent booked, he noted.

"Someone even took our $1,500 residential suite last night," he said. "People were enjoying the storm."

Some state, county and side streets in Butler and Hamilton counties in Ohio as well as Kenton and Boone counties in Northern Kentucky are also treacherous, county dispatchers warned.

Clermont and Warren counties are not under any snow warnings, but roads there are dangerous in spots as well, with some secondary streets still uncleared, dispatchers said.

"Everything is open and passable," said Clermont County Dispatcher Dave Chaney. "Probably the secondary streets won't see a whole lot of work until later today. The main state routes are open and they'll be cleared again later today."

In Hamilton County overnight, a couple dozen accidents were reported due to weather conditions, dispatcher Don Hensley said. There were too many to count, he added, noting that today most roads are passable but still treacherous due to ice forming on them overnight in the frigid temperatures.

Most dispatchers reported few accidents overnight - and those were minor ones, fender-benders or cars sliding off sides of roads.

"There has been very little traffic out tonight, which we have been hoping for," said Butler County dispatcher Mary Thompson. "But the roads are still bad. Even the state routes seem to be bad."

"Most of the calls we've been getting tonight are people wanting to know if they should be on the roads, asking if they will be arrested if they go on the roads," Thompson said. "They are hoping not to have to go into work.....I sure wouldn't be out if I didn't have to work....I wish I could dispatch from home."

In Kenton County, the Cut-in-the-Hill [I 75 Southbound] is open and dispatchers said there were no serious accidents overnight.

"Lots of fender benders and cars off to the side of the road," dispatcher Gina Sully said.