A glimpse of winter

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Expect record low temperatures — or at best near- record lows — today and Wednesday with the Mahoning Valley experiencing the first snowstorm of note of the season.

The high temperature expected today is only 19 degrees, well below the 48-degree high temperature that is normal for the area for Nov. 18, with a low at night of about 11 degrees, according to Brian Mitchell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Cleveland.

The record low for Nov. 18 is 8 degrees in 1959.

The area almost certainly will break the record-low temperature the next day, likely during Wednesday’s early hours, Mitchell said.

The record low for Nov. 19 is 17 degrees in 1989.

The average high for this week in the Valley is 46 to 48 degrees.

But the area won’t see anything close to that until Sunday, Mitchell said.

“It’s unseasonably cold for the entire week,” he said.

The high is expected to be 29 degrees for Wednesday, 27 degrees Thursday, 28 degrees Friday and 36 degrees Saturday, according to the NWS forecast.

The high for Sunday is expected to be 48 degrees.

The Valley had 2.4 inches of snow as of Sunday; the average for the first 16 days of the month is 1.1 inches.

Then came Monday with 3 to 6 inches of snowfall, depending on where you live.

Up to an inch of snow is expected today, according to the NWS forecast.

There’s a chance of snow every day for the rest of the week, but there shouldn’t be accumulations.

The heavy and wet snow early Monday caused some minor fender-benders and spin-outs along major routes and rural roads.

Road crews in the Mahoning Valley are trying many alternatives this season to fight the icy roads, including salt, slag and even beet juice. High salt prices have forced some more-creative approaches — so far with mixed success.

In Campbell, police reported a woman’s vehicle skidded off state Route 616 near Cooper Avenue because she had been driving a little too fast. Police said she was OK, and there were no other reported incidents.

Judith Clement, the city administrator, reported the city has about 60 tons of salt from both the Ohio Department of Transportation and Lowe’s in Boardman on hand to ease road conditions. She said it is “hard to know how long the salt will last,” but she added the city plans to replenish its salt stock if it hits 20 tons.

Struthers police reported there was a minor fender-bender at Elm Street and Seventh Street near the elementary school Monday morning, but no one was injured.

Slippery conditions caused a vehicle to slide off the state Route 11 ramp at state Route 305, causing some drivers early Monday to take alternate routes. Cortland police directed traffic for a brief period.

A few cars were off the road or in ditches off state Route 193 in Liberty, Vienna and Fowler townships.

Boardman police reported seven accidents Monday morning and afternoon. Causes of the accidents had not yet been determined Monday, but police officials said weather likely was a factor in some of them.