WEATHER Snowfall record looms in wintry Cleveland

The white winter has affected many cities and closed schools on several occasions.
CLEVELAND (AP) -- With spring just a few days away, residents of northern Ohio have this to look forward to: another round of snowy weather that is pushing the region to the verge of its snowiest season on record.
"It's got me planning to move south," said Terry Blankenship, 29, of Elyria, who was washing storefront windows in 28-degree weather and occasional flurries Friday in downtown Cleveland.
The region awoke to several inches of new snow, with more forecast daily through at least Monday. The latest snowfall pushed Cleveland's seasonal total above 95 inches, nearing the record of 101 inches recorded in the winter of 1995-96.
A total of 90.1 inches fell in the memorable 1977-78 winter in Cleveland, which averages 63 inches.
Widespread
The impressive snow amounts haven't been limited to Cleveland, which gets "lake effect" snow coming off Lake Erie. Boston and Burlington, Vt., have had their seventh snowiest winters on record, with more than 78 inches in Boston and more than 72 inches in Burlington.
"It's just depressing weather," said Blankenship, who moved back to northern Ohio three years ago after 2 1/2 years in Charlotte, N.C.
Blankenship said he has been unable to work about five days a month throughout the winter because of severe weather. "It was too snowy or too cold," said Blankenship, who doesn't get paid when the weather is too bad to work outside.
Brian Coniglio, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service's Wilmington office, which covers southwest Ohio, said the Cleveland snowfall was fueled by northerly winds pushing moisture off Lake Erie and even Lake Huron 110 miles away.
"It's just been a lot of bad luck for them, unless you like snow," he said.
Central and southern Ohio are off their record pace of 1977-78, with Dayton's 31 inches just half of its 62.7-inch record in that year and Cincinnati's nearly 22 inches for the season less than half its 53.9-inch mark.
Columbus has had nearly 30 inches, less than half its 67.8-inch record set in 1909-10.
Snowfall for this season in the Toledo area is approaching the top 10 snowiest on record. So far, 49.1 inches have fallen at the Toledo airport -- about two inches shy of the top 10. But it's far from the record snowfall of 73.1 inches set in 1977-78.
Schools
Carl Michael, principal of Minerva High School 15 miles east of Canton, said the district has called off classes this winter four times, on pace with the average four or five snow days for his district. Classes were delayed one hour Friday because of snowy roads.
"I don't think this has been any more taxing that most other winters," said Michael, looking back on three decades of trying to figure out if pre-dawn weather was severe enough to cancel classes.
"The kids are used to it in this climate and this area. I don't think they get much cabin fever," Michael said. It helps, he said, that students can look forward to a 10-day spring break beginning March 24. The first day of spring is March 20.
The mix of snow and ice has been hard on Toledo's streets, prompting Mayor Jack Ford to call for what he said was the largest street resurfacing program in the city's history.
He announced plans in late February to repave 60 miles of streets and repair another 50 miles. The mayor blamed repeated freezing and thawing for the pothole problem.