COLUMBUS, Ohio – Arctic cold temperatures and snow returned at the wrong time for central Ohio commuters.
Snow fell across much of the region during this morning’s rush hour, making for slow going even though city and road crews were out all night, treating roadways.
Level 1 snow emergencies were declared in Fairfield and Union counties due to hazardous driving conditions.
The snow will be followed by falling temperature and rising winds. The National Weather Service has issued a Wind Chill Advisory for parts of central Ohio from 7:00 p.m. Tuesday night until 11:00 a.m. Wednesday with wind chills of 10 to 15 degrees below zero possible Wednesday morning.
High temperatures in the teens and below-zero wind chills are expected through Thursday.
Another mass of Canadian polar air is moving into the South, the Midwest, and Northeast.
Three to nine inches of snow will ride along the leading edge of the cold front today from the Virginias to Massachusetts. Temperatures will fall to the single digits in those areas.
Readings below freezing will have people shivering all the way down to northern Florida tonight. Forecasters say the eastern half of the U.S. will stay in the deep freeze until the weekend. That will mean lows in the teens in usually mild places like Memphis, Tennessee and daytime highs in single digits in parts of Maine today.