COLUMBUS – Columbus area residents woke up Monday morning to find yards, roads and sidewalks covered with snow as a dangerous winter storm whipped the eastern U.S. from Ohio to New England.
UPDATE 1/17/22 8:27 a.m.: Franklin, Delaware, Fairfield and Pickaway counties are under Level 2 snow emergencies. Licking, Madison and Union counties were under Level 1 snow emergencies.
More than 200 Ohio Department of Transportation crews in central Ohio were among nearly 1,000 who were expected to continue clearing roadways into the afternoon.
COTA suspended fares during a Level 2 snow emergency.
Nearly 4 inches of snow fell across parts of the Columbus area overnight. More than a foot of snow was reported in northeast Ohio.
Light snow showers and flurries were expected to linger intermittently throughout the day with only very light additional accumulations possible, according to the National Weather Service.
Many schools and businesses were closed Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, which could help reduce travel problems, but blowing and drifting snow were expected to create hazards throughout the day with temperatures remaining below freezing.
Forecasters estimate a foot of snow will fall in parts of Ohio, New England, New York state, and Pennsylvania through Tuesday morning.
Ohio Department of Transportation personnel began pre-treating roadways Friday and spokesman Matt Bruning says more than 150 ODOT drivers will work 12-hour shifts until the storm has passed and clean up is complete.
A winter storm warning extended from just north of metro Atlanta to Arkansas in the west and upstate New York in the north Sunday and Monday morning covering parts of at least 14 states including Ohio, Kentucky and West Virginia as the storm barrelled out of the Midwest, bringing snow and ice to the Southeast.
The storm knocked out power Sunday to tens of thousands of customers, felled trees and coated roads with treacherous ice. Highway patrols reported hundreds of vehicle accidents.
Significant icing caused problems in North Carolina, while Virginia State Police said traffic stood still for hours on Interstate 81 in Roanoke County due to an accident.
In Florida, a tornado ripped through a trailer park. Three minor injuries were reported.
Officials across New England warned residents to stay indoors on Saturday as a blast of Arctic air was expected to drive wind chill temperatures as low as minus 35 degrees Fahrenheit.