On Friday, snow continued to fall across the county as forecasted, and Saturday is expected to remain cold with a high of 23, a low of 5, and wind chill values as low as -3.
While there is a 30% chance for more snow today, accumulation is expected to be less than half an inch.
As of Friday afternoon, Fayette County Sheriff Vernon Stanforth explained side roads were still bad, the Ohio Department of Transportation was taking care of state routes, and the county plows had been out since 4 a.m. Friday morning trying to clear main roadways.
“Fortunately, we didn’t get the wind we expected,” said Stanforth.
He explained the wind was supposed to be about 35 mph but, overall, the storm wasn’t as bad as was forecasted. Approximately two inches of sleet fell. Once the sleet started, slide-offs of semis decreased in comparison to what they were on Thursday.
There were several vehicle slide-offs or vehicles that were stuck. There was also a tractor that went into a ditch with water and got stuck in the mud, according to Stanforth.
There were no reported power outages.
According to Fayette County Engineer Steve Luebbe, salt supplies were a little low as of Friday morning, but more salt was received later Friday and more deliveries are scheduled for Saturday.
“We expect the bins to be full again by the end of next week. We do have what we need to deal with this storm,” explained Luebbe via email. “Ice and cold temps are definitely more of a challenge. It’s not like just dealing with a typical snow. We’ve used relatively little salt this week. We put some material down early Thursday as the storm began, but once the ice/snow starts building up, we mostly plow. That’s typical as well when the winds pick up, and we get drifting.
“When we do put salt down, we like to give it time to work before we make another round and throw it all off the road. We also use less once the temperatures drop, as the salt doesn’t provide much benefit. The effectiveness of salt is reduced drastically as it gets colder.”
Sunday is forecasted to warm slightly with a high near 36, but Sunday night is expected to have a low of 16.
Temperatures throughout next week are forecasted to be warmer during the day and cold at night with highs ranging between 33-40, and lows at night ranging between 11 and 25.
“This weekend we’ll continue to plow and clear the roads as much as possible. We’ll spread grits as well to increase traction. We’ll hold off spreading salt until the temperatures rise a little, and it can do some good. Otherwise, we’re just wasting money,” wrote Luebbe.
Fayette County had been placed on a Level 3 snow emergency Thursday night but was moved back to a Level 2 Friday morning. Travel was still cautioned due to road conditions. Under a Level 2, community members should only travel if absolutely necessary.
For the second day in a row on Friday, several businesses, offices and local schools closed.
Miami Trace Local Schools operated by remote learning, Washington Court House City Schools and Fayette Christian School closed. Fayette County Public Health, Fayette County landfill/transfer station, Fayette County BMV/Title Department, Fayette County Administrative Offices, Fayette County Dog Shelter, Fayette County Courthouse, Washington Municipal Court, and Fayette County Commission on Aging all closed Friday, as well as several local businesses.
The local Walmart posted on its social media page, www.facebook.com/Walmart3251/, that the store would be closed until further notice due to weather.
Community members could be seen shoveling, a few out playing in the snow, and furry friends making paw-prints in the snow.
Luebbe wrote, “there’s not one approach that works for every winter storm event. Our crews have a lot of experience dealing with it, so we try to utilize that knowledge and use the most effective approach. Also, once all this ice turns to slush and we plow it off, we’re likely going to knock down a few mailboxes. If we do, just call the office and, when the weather permits, we’ll put it back up. It’s not something we do on purpose, but it is an unavoidable consequence of the season.”
Stay with www.recordherald.com for the latest on the winter storm.
