Early deliveries forecast for Valentine's Day Freezing rain, sleet, three inches of ice or eight inches of snow? That was the question on the minds of almost everyone in Wilmington on Monday.
While waiting to see what was in store with the weather, local hotels were filling up their reservation books by people who don't want to travel out of town if the weather turns bad.
At the same time, Clinton County florists were looking ahead to how they will cope with delivery of Valentine's Day flowers.
Two Wilmington hotels were filled to capacity Monday night, while for another hotel near Interstate 71, it was business as usual.
The Wilmington Inn made reservations for the last room available shortly after 5 p.m. Monday, said Tonya Wade, an employee at the inn which has 50 rooms.
Two rooms were available at the Holiday Inn Express around 4 p.m. Monday, both due to cancellations, said Adam Cooper, who works there. Also, he said all 75 rooms were booked for tonight.
"I don't know how much is because of the weather," Cooper said. "Several people have already checked in (Monday)'" he said.
A spokesperson at the Holiday Inn on Gano Road near Interstate 71 and U.S. 68 North could not say if they had more reservations than normal. "We're busy all the time," the spokesperson said.
Meanwhile, Clinton County florists were preparing for one of their biggest sales events - Valentine's Day - on Wednesday.
"We've tried to get as much delivered today as we can," Jeff Swindler of Swindler & Sons Florists said Monday afternoon.
"We're hoping the weather will be better on Wednesday, but if it's not, we're warning people we'll deliver on Thursday," he said.
Swindler, who resides in Cleveland, comes to Wilmington every year to help his family out with Valentine's Day sales and deliveries.
"We think we'll be OK in town, but we could run into problems outside of town," Swindler said. "You can get into trouble with icy roads around Blanchester and Clarksville."
Several members of the Swindler family have four-wheel drive vehicles, Jeff said, and plans are to use those vehicles if they are needed to get the deliveries made.
Timothy Larrick at McCarty Gardens in Sabina said Monday afternoon that many people are taking early deliveries. "We've been taking orders for Wednesday, but we've been explaining to people that some things are not under our control," he said.
Larrick said all of the orders for Tuesday and Wednesday are made up and ready to be delivered. "We're praying we don't get the weather that they say we will get."
Sherri Chasteen, owner of Blooms in Blanchester, said Monday afternoon that she hopes to have three or four vehicles on the road Wednesday. "I'm watching the weather. If it is a problem to get the orders delivered, I will call the people and let them know we can't get the deliveries made."
Chasteen said front-wheel drive or four-wheel drive vehicles will be used if the snow and/or ice arrives.
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