WILMINGTON (AP) — Clinton Countians began their work week spreading salt and scraping windshields after an early morning mix of rain and sleet put us, as predicted, under a thin layer of ice.
A Level 2 emergency was declared locally early Monday by the Clinton County Sheriff’s Office. Under a Level 2, “Roadways are hazardous with blowing and drifting snow, roadways are also icy. Only those who feel it is necessary to drive should be out on the roadways. Contact your employer to see if you should report to work.”
Clinton County schools were closed Monday, as were numerous school districts around Ohio as ice, sleet and snow accompanied warming temperatures and prompted travel warnings around the state.
In southern Ohio’s Pike County, the sheriff declared a type of snow emergency early Monday that essentially closed the roads to all travelers except emergency personnel. He warned that violators could be arrested.
Authorities in some other counties issued lower-level snow advisories, urging drivers to use caution or stay off the roads if possible.
Akron, Columbus, Dayton and Toledo were among the school districts that kept students home for the day because of the wintry conditions.
In southwestern Ohio, many Cincinnati-area schools were delayed or closed, and Miami University in Oxford was opening late.
Week warms up
Ohio had been in a deep freeze beginning around Christmas Day until a Sunday warm-up.
According to AccuWeather, high temps will be in the mid-30s Tuesday with thermometers nearing 60 degrees by Thursday.
But don’t get too used to warmer weather — we may again drop to single digits by Saturday.
Records broken
The recent blast of arctic air that engulfed portions of the East Coast broke cold temperature records from Maine to West Virginia and stunned sea turtles in Florida prior to Sunday’s warm-up.
Burlington, Vermont, and Portland, Maine set records, with Burlington falling to minus 20, beating a 1923 record by a degree, and Portland recording minus 11, also a degree below a 1941 record.
The National Weather Service said Worcester, Massachusetts, which fell to minus 9, and Providence, Rhode Island, which dropped to minus 3, also set record lows, as did Hartford, Connecticut, where the temperature dropped to minus 9, smashing a 1912 record.
Boston tied a low-temperature record set more than a century ago in 1896 of minus 2.
Record-low temperatures were also set in parts of West Virginia.
Many Northeast residents endured jaw-clenching temperatures and brutal wind chills over the weekend as cleanup continued from the storm that dropped as much as 18 inches of snow in some places on Thursday.
As aviation crews at South Carolina’s busiest airport, Charleston International Airport, struggled to clear runways of snow and ice so they could be reopened, in New England water main breaks, frozen hydrants and burst pipes created new headaches for officials.
The temperature registered minus 37 Saturday at the Mount Washington Observatory in New Hampshire, one of the coldest places on the planet. The wind chill was minus 93. It tied with Armstrong, Ontario, as the second coldest spot in the world.
Meteorologist Mike Carmon said people at the observatory were “layering up as a much as we can.”
The chilly winter blast did not spare Florida, where rescuers rushed to save hundreds of young sea turtles stunned by the cold. State wildlife officials said they had rescued more than 100. The Gulf World Marine Institute in Panama City Beach said it had treated 200 turtles by Thursday evening.
