Tuesday, March 9, 1999
Late-winter snow socks Tristate
A late-winter storm dropped 3-4 inches of snow and slush in Cincinnati and suburbs overnight. Snow was heavier - 6-8 inches - north of the city in Butler and Warren counties. And it wasn't over.
Another 1-3 inches of snow was expected in and north of the city this morning. Rain and freezing rain were forecast south of the city.
The storm closed many area schools and made for slow, slippery driving, but it could have been worse. Some predictions had called for up to 12 inches, but warmer temperatures produced more rain and less snow in the southern part of the Tristate.
It's going to feel like winter this week, but no more measurable snow is expected.
“It looks like this week will be a cold one,” said Mark Tobin, meteorologist for AccuWeather. A weak storm system passing through the Tristate on Wednesday isn't expected to result in any significant accumulation, but temperatures will dip into the mid-20s.
The average temperature for this time is 49. Cold air moving south from Canada is being blamed for the unseasonable temperatures.
“It wouldn't surprise me if this is our last major storm system (of the season),” Mr. Tobin said.
On Monday, city road crews, stinging from complaints that snow removal was inadequate after an icy blast in January, prepared for the worst. Cincinnati's Highway Maintenance Division created new routes to improve snow removal from main and residential streets. The city planned to use pickup trucks in communities that have hills and narrow roads.
To prevent the slush from turning to ice, the city was ready to put 116 pieces of equipment out overnight and plow and salt roads as needed, said Matthew Manion, assistant superintendent of highway maintenance.
For Metro riders, a 24-hour recording — 632-7538 — is available for up-to-the-minute route information.
AAA Cincinnati put emergency road service crews on notice. Crews are arriving at work an hour earlier today to answer phones and assist motorists, a spokeswoman said.
Butler County had 2,500 tons of road salt on reserve — enough for 25 rounds on county roads. “We've got plenty of material and we're ready to go,” County Engineer Dean Foster said Monday.
In Northern Kentucky, crews were putting plows on their trucks Monday afternoon, said Lois Blanchet, Campbell County road department clerk.
Many Tristaters headed to stores Monday to beat the storm's arrival. Merchants who had begun to feature spring items in their aisles were busy restocking shelves.
“We had to bring it down from the top shelf,” said Bryan Hayes, a man ager at HQ-Home Quarters Warehouse in Springdale, of the salt, shovels and sand.
In Butler County, Fairfield Hardware still had snow shovels available Monday.
“We've sold out of shovels three different times (this year),” said manager Dan Morrow.
At the Quality Farm and Fleet on Ohio 4, snow shovels were getting scarce. “We're down to three,” said employee Suzanne Garver. “It's too late in the season to stock many shovels, and now we've got a snow storm coming with only three shovels available.”
Bigg's in Florence saw twice its usual number of customers Monday. Most customers at the Houston Road store stocked up on bread, milk, meat and road salt, said store manager Bob Miller.
The 2-day-old storm has dropped snow onto western sections of Illinois (8 inches) into Iowa (14 inches) and west into the Dakotas, Nebraska and Kansas.
Schools were closed or opened late in western Wisconsin, southern Minnesota, eastern South Dakota, central and eastern Nebraska and across
Iowa.
Visibility dropped to near-whiteout conditions in open areas as snow was propelled by 30 mph winds.
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TRISTATE DIGEST
