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AN UNRELENTING COLD
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Rev. Vit Fiala, a priest at Shrine of Our Lady, Comforter of the Afflicted, 517 S. Belle Vista Ave in Youngstown, digs his car out after sliding into a snowbank in front of the shrine Tuesday. With the help of a few passing motorists and a Vindicator photographer he was on his way.
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Snow and slippery roads caused a single car wreck on St Rt 62 - just south of 165 closed St Rt 62 for some time as the car snapped a pole and brought down electrical wires - unknown how many people were in the car but an ambulance did leave the scene as I arrived - Perry Twp. Police Dept handled the crash
Winter workers offer tips to ease your cold and snow woes.
STAFF REPORT
Video
It’s brutal out there.
Are kids off school?
Do you have to leave early for work?
How are the roads?
Will the car start, and keep running?
How high will my heating bill be THIS month?
Winter. January. Northeast Ohio and Western Pennsylvania.
We know it’s coming every year, but are we ever ready for it?
A wind chill advisory was in effect overnight, with blowing and accumulating snow and falling temperatures.
Today’s forecast: More blowing snow and new accumulation of 1 to 3 inches. Colder with highs around 18. Wind chill values as low as 2 below zero this morning.
Tonight: You guessed it — snow and blowing snow. Light snow accumulation. Cold with lows around 8 degrees. Wind chill values as low as minus 2, decreasing to wind chill values as low as 7 below zero after midnight.
Thursday? Ugh. Snow showers likely. Areas of blowing snow. Cold with highs around 9 degrees. Northwest winds 10 to 15 mph. Chance of snow 70 percent. Wind chill values as low as minus 9.
Thursday night it’ll be mostly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of snow showers, and colder with lows around zero.
School closings
Making a determination on whether inclement weather should close school for the day is “one of the most difficult decisions” a superintendent has to make, said Lakeview Superintendent Robert Wilson in Cortland.
Road conditions and just how cold it is supposed to be are the two significant factors, he said, adding that he personally travels the roads of his district in the early morning hours to see conditions.
Trumbull County schools are divided into regions when it comes to weather and school closings, and the schools in a region work together, Wilson said, reaching their decision by 5:30 a.m.
“Safety first” is the key, he said.
Schools don’t want to jeopardize the safety of their pupils, but they do have a duty to educate children, said Ronald Iarussi, Columbiana superintendent. Temperatures below zero are a red flag when it comes to health risk, particularly for children who walk to school, he said.
Columbiana has developed contacts with the local police departments and Ohio Department of Transportation to monitor road conditions, and those agencies can make recommendations, he said.
The process begins around 4:30 a.m. so a decision on closing can be made by 6:30 a.m. before the first bus rolls, Iarussi said.
Wendy Webb, Youngstown superintendent, said she tries to make the decision by 6 a.m. so parents can tune to local radio and television stations to find out if school is closed.
A significant number of Youngstown school children walk to their buildings, and the district needs to determine if city streets are safe for them, not just the buses, she said. The amount of snow and ice accumulated, continuing precipitation, temperature and wind chill are all factors considered, Webb said, adding that other school districts are also consulted.
Ultimately, it is the parents’ decision to determine if it is safer to keep their child at home, she said.
Ohio schools have five “calamity days,” or days that they can cancel school because of some emergency — weather included — without having to make them up.
The situation is different in Pennsylvania, where school districts generally build one or two “snow days” into their school calendar. Those are days when classes can be made up if a day is missed because of weather, allowing the district to complete the mandatory 180 days of instruction without extending its calendar.
Car care
Winter weather can take its toll on more than just the roads. Local automotive experts offered advice on how to keep cars running efficiently.
Tom Schadl, manager of Flynn’s Tire & Auto Service on Mahoning Avenue, said monitoring tires is the best way to ensure safe driving.
“The biggest thing, for traction purposes, is air pressure,” he said. “It gives you the best footprint on the road.”
Schadl said the best place to find the correct tire pressure for a vehicle is not on the tire, but rather on a placard inside the vehicle’s door. He added that some drivers overinflated their tires during the summer in order to combat high gas prices. “What they made up for in gas mileage they lost in traction,” he said.
He also suggested having emergency equipment, such as a blanket, cell phone, jumper cables and markers, handy in case of a breakdown or sliding off the road. Some automotive establishments offer safety kits for drivers. One such kit, the Justin Case 36-piece Auto Safety Kit, can be purchased at AutoZone for $24.99.
Tamika Blandon, assistant manager of the Market Street AutoZone, said the kit includes jumper cables, flares, a flashlight and batteries, and some first-aid equipment.
She said checking windshield wipers, washer fluid, thermostat and antifreeze is important to keep vehicles running effectively. She also suggested using fuel-injector cleaner. “It keeps your injectors clean and keeps your car running well,” Blandon said.
Schadl said vehicles shouldn’t drop below a quarter of a tank, in case drivers get stranded. Having a candle is beneficial, too, he added.
“You should always have a blanket and a candle,” he said. “If for some reason you go off the road where nobody can get to you for a good amount of time, they say a candle can keep you warm enough to keep you alive.”
Road crews
Road officials in Mahoning and Trumbull counties said their efforts change from melting ice to creating traction when temperatures drop well below freezing.
“When you start getting below 20 degrees, salt starts losing its effectiveness,” said Tom Sakmar of Youngstown’s street department, “We’ll probably go more to a gravel mix this year.”
Helping alleviate the high cost of salt, adding gravel also increases the friction between tires and pavement, Sakmar said. Youngstown adds about three parts of gravel to one part of salt.
Marty Patrick, the highway superintendent for Trumbull County, said their salt-gravel mixture is more of a 1-1 ratio. He said his department will focus on what he called “hazard areas” as the temperature continues to sink.
“Salt does work if the sun comes out or if it’s put on a real busy road with lots of traffic,” Patrick said. “But with low temperatures it’s more about creating traction. ... It all comes down to intersections, stop signs [and] curves in a road.”
In those places, he explained, county trucks will spread more of the salt-gravel mix than on regular straightaways. The gravel is particularly necessary to ensure vehicles stay on the road and stop with ease, he said.
Mail delivery
The U.S. Postal Service Web site advises that preventing a slip or bad fall can be as easy as putting down salt or sand on slippery surfaces. Letter carriers cannot make door or curb deliveries when the approach to the mailbox is hazardous because of snow or ice.
Carriers are not allowed to attempt door delivery when there is a heavy buildup of snow and ice on sidewalks, steps or porches. They are not allowed to dismount for curb-line boxes blocked by snow and ice buildup. Snow must be cleared to the curb line for at least 6 feet on both sides of the mailbox so the carrier may approach and leave without backing up his or her vehicle.
Ice is particularly dangerous on steps and any walking surface, especially painted wood or concrete, such as stoops and porches. In open areas, watch for drifts and pileups from snowplows. When there’s a warm spell, and the melting snow runs or pools, a quick freeze can make a cleared sidewalk slicker than ever.
Utility worries
Some people may be wondering if their gas and electric will be working during frigid temperatures. But Tracy Oliver, spokeswoman for Dominion East Ohio, said residents shouldn’t worry about their gas being shut off when temperatures are this cold.
“We monitor the temperatures very carefully,” she said. “Based on current weather conditions, Dominion doesn’t plan any resident disconnections this week.”
Ohio Edison spokesman Mark Durbin said electric company customers shouldn’t worry once temperatures dip below 20 degrees.
“When the weather is severe, we typically don’t disconnect residential customers; however, commercial and industrial customers are subject to disconnection at any time,” he said. “When it’s in the 20-degree range or less we probably will not do any disconnects.”
Durbin said Ohio Edison customers who are having difficulty paying their electric bill do have options. “We make every effort to work with customers who are having trouble paying their bills to get on a payment plan,” he said. “The most important thing is that they have to call us. Disconnection is the last resort.”
Oliver said that, like Ohio Edison customers, Dominion customers who can’t pay their bill can look to the company for assistance. “If customers are experiencing difficulties in paying bills they should contact the company directly,” Oliver said. “We have several energy-assistance programs, as well as payment plans in place to help customers pay their bills.”
Accidents
Lastly, beware of citations that can stem from losing control while driving. A Youngstown woman was charged after an accident on U.S. Route 62 at Pine Lake Road about 10:13 a.m. Tuesday.
Deanna P. Bland, 20, of Tyrell Street, was driving a car south when she lost control on the slippery road and went off the west side of the road.
The vehicle went into a ditch and struck a utility pole and a county sign before coming to a rest on the driver’s side. Live electrical wires were dangling over the vehicle.
Perry Township police said tension on the wires caused another utility pole to snap.
Perry Township firefighters responded, along with Ohio Edison workers, who shut off the power.
Bland was removed from the car by safety workers and taken to Salem Community Hospital for examination. Bland said she had no injuries.
She was cited for failure to maintain reasonable control of a vehicle.
The crash knocked out power to part of the area, and traffic was blocked from the crash site for a few hours while electrical repairs were made.
SEE ALSO COLD WEATHER ADVICE | People and pets.