Snow covers most of Ohio as cold spell continues

Meteorologists said the chilly weather and snowfall will extend through Tuesday.

COLUMBUS (AP) — Snowfall blanketed most of Ohio on Sunday, capping a bitterly cold weekend that contributed to at least three deaths across the state.

Temperatures remained below freezing, lower than usual, and snow showers coated most of the state Sunday. In northern Ohio, the Seneca County sheriff issued a Level 2 snow emergency and urged residents to stay indoors.

Two people died this weekend after their car ran off the road and flipped into an icy creek in a rural part of Athens County in southeast Ohio, said Sgt. Jeff Holbert, Ohio State Highway Patrol. The car was spotted early Saturday almost fully submerged, with one wheel sticking out of the water.

Authorities found the driver, 23-year-old Justin Hodgson of Glouster, lying face down in the snow about 500 feet from the crash. Hodgson, who had crawled out of the vehicle, died of hypothermia, Holbert said.

“It appears he was trying to walk back into town,” Hodgson said.

Temperatures in Northeast Ohio plunged below zero Friday night.

Authorities discovered the body of Melody Hooper, 21, also of Glouster, inside the vehicle. Hooper drowned, Hodgson said.

Police used a chain to pull the vehicle out of the water and had to pry open the doors, which were frozen shut, Hodgson said.

Authorities believe the crash occurred sometime after Hooper was last seen around 9 p.m. Friday night.

The bodies did not appear to have sustained serious injuries in the crash, and the vehicle bore only minor scrapes, Hodgson said. Autopsies are being conducted on the bodies.

“The car was so submerged, it could have been a while before anybody noticed it,” Hodgson said.

Snow had been cleared from the road Friday, and it is unlikely that slick pavement caused the crash, Hodgson said.

Also in Northeast Ohio, authorities said an 8-year-old boy drowned Friday after he fell into a partially frozen creek and got stuck under the ice. Temperatures had reached several degrees below zero in the town of Mentor.

In western Ohio, a section of eastbound Interstate 70 was closed early Sunday after a tractor-trailer jackknifed near Butler Township, the state highway patrol said. No injuries were reported.

Slick conditions contributed to several weekend crashes along Interstate 75, including a five-vehicle pileup Saturday near Toledo. No major injuries were reported.

Ohio’s chilly weather and scattered snowfall will continue through Tuesday as a cold front drives the mercury lower, National Weather Service meteorologists said Sunday.

The high in Columbus was 26 degrees, 10 degrees below the average temperature at this time of year.

Total snow accumulation across northern Ohio was expected to range from an inch or 2 in western Ohio to up to 6 inches further east as temperatures stayed near 20 degrees Sunday, said Kirk Lombardy, a meteorologist with the Weather Service in Cleveland.