COLUMBUS, Ohio – A day after the Columbus area saw 2 to 5 inches of early-season snow, the mercury has taken a nose dive.
EXTRA: School delays and closings
Following a day that had brought widespread snow, power outages and some schools closings and delays to Ohio, the National Weather Service says to expect blustery weather with lows in the lower teens and even single digits, and Tuesday highs reaching only into the 20s.
The agency says the 3.8 inches of snow officially reported at Port Columbus International Airport makes Monday the 12th snowiest November day on record.
The Ohio Committee for Severe Weather Awareness is – appropriately — promoting this week Winter Safety Awareness Week. The agency encourages household and businesses to update their safety plans, replenish disaster supply kits and prepare themselves for winter-related incidents like power and heat outages and frozen pipes.
Wind chills ranged from 0 in Delaware and -1 at Port Columbus early Monday morning to -7 at the Marysville Union County Airport and are expected to remain below zero. The rest of the work week might be slightly warmer, but not much.
Columbia Gas of Ohio estimates that customers will use more than twice as much natural gas in Tuesday’s bitter cold as they would on a normal Nov. 18.
Temperatures nearer to normal are expected this weekend.