Temps to reach dangerous lows this weekend

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

The Mahoning Valley will be hit with heavy snow with 40 mph wind gusts today followed by below-zero temperatures tonight and Sunday.

“It’s going to be very nasty,” said Jess Briganti, weather anchor for “WFMJ Today” on 21 WFMJ-TV, The Vindicator’s broadcast partner. “We’re expected to have record lows [today] and Sunday.”

The snow is to start about 8 a.m. today and get heavy between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., she said. “We’ll have squalls with whiteouts and 40 mph wind gusts.”

The Valley should get about 4 to 5 inches of snow by this evening, she said.

The high temperature for today will be about 20 degrees early in the morning and drop to 5 below zero at night.

The record low for Feb. 14 in the Valley is minus 6 in 1979, according to the National Weather Service.

Wind chill values will be about 10 to 15 below zero by 6 p.m. today, and drop to 25 below zero overnight and into Sunday, Briganti said.

The expected high temperature for Sunday is only 2, dropping to 10 below zero at night and into Monday morning, she said.

The record low for Feb. 15 in the area is 4 below zero in 1963.

Also, if the temperature gets to only 2, it would the lowest high temperature for the area on record, Briganti said. The lowest high temperature for the Valley is 3 on Feb. 1, 1971. Weather data for this area dates back to 1897.

While the high temperature for Monday is expected to reach 12, wind chill values will be as low as 15 below zero that day, Briganti said.

ONE-TWO PUNCH

The one-two punch of blowing snow followed by very low temperatures could pose a challenge for those traveling this weekend.

Mahoning County road crews will be on call for snow and ice removal, said Patrick Ginnetti, county engineer.

Ginnetti said he and his staff constantly monitor weather forecasts in an effort to anticipate snow and ice events.

“We are going to be prepared, but, at the same time, you can’t have guys just sitting and waiting” on the payroll for a weather event to start, given the engineer’s office’s budget limitations, he said Friday.

If there’s a high probability of a winter storm, he said his office tries to have crews start work an hour before the predicted start of the storm.

Officials for Austintown Township, Canfield city, Canfield Township, Poland Township and Boardman Township say they will have road crews on call throughout the weekend. Overtime pay is not a concern so far, they say, and most communities report that they are still well-stocked with road salt.

“My major concern is coming out of this, when the weather warms up,” said Boardman Administrator Jason Loree. “Road conditions are going to be really rough.”

Loree said he also is concerned about pipes breaking at township buildings over the weekend, which was an issue last winter.

Austintown Township will take an extra precaution and open up all four of its fire stations, Administrator Mike Dockry said.

Usually the township has two stations open, Dockry said, but Fire Chief Andy Frost III decided to staff two other stations because of circumstances that might arise from the extreme cold.

“Just be safe. Be careful. Keep warm,” David Ditzler, county commissioner, advised. “Bring your animals in. ... If you see somebody that doesn’t have their animals in, call Dianne Fry [county dog warden] at the dog pound.”

The dog pound phone number is 330-740-2205. In the case of an emergency, call 911.

local planning

Individual communities also are making plans. “All of our trucks are loaded and ready to go,” said Judith Clement, Campbell director of administration. Depending on the weather, a parking ban could be imposed sometime today, she added.

Struthers Mayor Terry Stocker said the city also is on stand-by to handle any issues such as water main breaks. Police also will do welfare checks for people who need them, he added.

Lowellville is prepared, said Bill Meeham, village administrator. “[We’re] waiting on the snow. Hope it passes us over.”

Schools will be closed Monday for Presidents Day.

Joseph Nohra, Struthers superintendent, said decisions to postpone any games or district events taking place over the weekend would be made with the principals.

Campbell Superintendant Matthew Bowen said the district will closely assess weather and road conditions for when school resumes Tuesday.

“Student safety is always our greatest concern,” he said. “Campbell City Schools does not provide transportation to the high school students, so extreme temperatures are closely monitored.”

John Hyden, Youngstown State University’s executive director of facilities, said his department expects problems with frozen pipes or other issues when the temperatures dip so low. They just try to anticipate where they might be.

“When it gets this cold, all bets are off,” he said.

But they might not learn that a pipe has frozen until midweek when it thaws. That’s when the pipes break.

furnaces, DRIVEWAYS

Furnace fixers and snow plowers are quite busy this time of year.

Business for David’s Heating in Poland is busy like last year. Problems from bad igniters, dirty filters, thermostat issues and a cold house are some of the reasons the repairers are called.

“I expect this weekend is going to be awfully [busy],” said Janet Ruehle, owner of David’s Heating. “You cannot let people go without heat.”

Gene Clayton, part owner of Clayton Heating and Air Conditioning, explained that when the temperature drops the furnace works hard to run at a consistent temperature, which is hard on it.

About 90 percent of the calls he gets are from customers with cold houses. Dirty filters affect the operation of the furnace.

A cracked heat exchanger is a more serious problem that can be found if the furnace stops working. This will lead to the release of carbon monoxide.

Both Clayton and Ruehle say it is important to get furnaces checked before the start of the cold season.

Heavy snow leads to business for Fred Schulte, owner of Affordable Snow Plowing by Fred.

“I specialize in residential [snow plowing], and when there is 8 inches of snow out there, they just can’t shovel,” he said.

Business is right on par with last year for Eric Vereb, owner of Austintown Lawn Maintenance. The company plows and salts commercial parking lots and residential drives.

This year the company has gone through 15 to 20 tons of salt.

Vereb’s tip for home and business owners is to call after a few inches fall. “[If you] keep driving over it and over and over what happens is it becomes a sheet of ice,” Vereb said.

FOOD AND SHELTER

The St. Vincent de Paul Society Dining Hall, 208 W. Front St., Youngstown, offers lunch from 10:30 a.m. to noon Monday through Friday and breakfast from 10 to 11 a.m. on Saturdays. However, today and next Saturday, special groups are serving lunch.

When it’s bitterly cold, Skip Barone, dining hall manager, said he makes coffee when he gets there at 5:30 a.m. and allows patrons to come in.

The Rescue Mission of Mahoning Valley emergency shelter, 962 Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Youngstown, offers free public meals seven days a week: breakfast, 6:15 to 7:15 a.m.; lunch, 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.; and dinner, 6 to 7 p.m.

The mission shelter is equipped to separately house single men, families, women with children, and single men with children. There also is a day room for about 20 people.

Mission officials ask that people call 330-744-5485 to check on availability of beds before they arrive. They also urge people to call the Help Hotline Crisis Center at 211 for help and not risk staying out in the dangerous cold.

The United Methodist Community Center, with locations at 139 E. Boardman St., Youngstown — 330-743-5149; and 309 North Park Ave., Warren — 330-373-6490, offer food and a place to get warm.

Bags of groceries and a place to get warm and have a cup of coffee and something to eat are available at Youngstown UMCC from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

In Warren, the mayor’s office coordinated a project Friday with the Warren Junior Women’s League. Gloves, hats and scarves donated by the Women’s League were being attached to the iron gate in front of city hall. They are intended to be taken by individuals who don’t have enough winter clothes to get them through the bad weather coming, said Women’s League member Jonnah Hetzel.