COLUMBUS, Ohio – Winter is forecast to arrive in a bad mood later tonight, bringing snow, wind and frigid temperatures to central Ohio and causing problems for the morning commute.
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Parts of the Midwest will see subzero temperatures with single-digit lows in the East. Cold weather is expected to reach as far south as New Orleans.
The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Watch for much of central Ohio from Monday evening until Tuesday evening, with forecasters calling for as much as 6 inches of snow in some areas.
Wind chills dropped to below zero early Monday morning and were not forecast to climb much higher as the day progressed.
Snow was expected to arrive after midnight, accumulating 3 to 5 inches in Columbus, and continuing Tuesday morning with a total accumulation of 6 inches possible, accompanied by bitterly cold subzero wind chills Tuesday night and a slight chance of lingering snow Wednesday morning.
City of Columbus crews have pre-treated bridges, ramps and overpasses and will begin treating top-priority routes, such as highways and major thoroughfares, once the snow begins and will work overnight to keep them as clear as possible, Public Service Department spokeswoman Melanie Crabill said.
The state Department of Transportation has 175 snow plow operators standing by to clear almost 5,000 lane miles of roadway in Delaware, Franklin, Madison, Pickaway and Union counties, ODOT spokeswoman Nancy Burton said.
Burton says the salt barns in all eight counties in Central Ohio have close to 56,000 tons of road salt. ODOT used more than 1 million tons of road salt during the 2013-14 winter, considered one of the worst in recent memory.