COLUMBUS – A winter storm arrived in central Ohio with rain changing to freezing rain early Thursday morning, making roadways slippery and shutting down schools across the area.
And, that was only the beginning, as heavy snow that began falling overnight Friday led to snow emergencies being declared in every county in central Ohio. Franklin County was the only one where authorities did not prohibit non-emergency travel.
UPDATE 2/5/22 7:17 a.m.:
Snow emergencies
Level 1 – Fairfield, Licking, Pickaway – roads hazardous
The main concerns Saturday were dangerously cold temperatures that would cause treated road surfaces to refreeze and windy conditions that created bitter wind chills and would blow snow across roadways, creating hazardous driving conditions.
Warming centers were scheduled to open at a variety of locations across central Ohio, including dozens of churches, libraries and rec centers in Columbus.
Find a warming center in Columbus calling the city at 614-274-7000
Two shelters were set to operate at The Disciple Factory, 50 S 30th Street, and Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 592 W Main Street, in Newark thru Monday.
More than 900 Ohio Department of Transportation were still clearing roads across the state Saturday.
Because the storm began as rain, they were unable to pretreat roadways since any de-icing materials used will continuously be washed away, ODOT Columbus spokeswoman Brooke Ebersole said
AEP Ohio reported that approximately 24,000 of its customers were still without power statewide Saturday morning. South Central Power reported that over 14,000 customers were without power early Saturday.
The National Weather Service says the 11.3 inches of snow that fell in Ridgeville Corners was the largest amount of snow recorded in Ohio..
Groundhog predicts more winter ahead
The storm that already cut electric power to about 350,000 homes and businesses from Texas to the Ohio Valley disrupted flights at major hubs in the U.S., and ice threatened to wreak havoc on road travel and electric service before the storm headed out to sea late Friday and Saturday.