BRRR: Baby it’s cold outside

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Baby, it’s cold outside.

Today, the highest temperature – in the upper teens – will not come until after the sun sets, said Eric Wilhelm, chief meteorologist for 21 WFMJ-TV, The Vindicator’s broadcast partner.

When you awoke today to grab your newspaper, it was about 2 degrees.

“[This] morning will be cold, but the afternoon will be better than [Thursday’s],” Wilhelm said.

It will not be as windy today as it was Thursday when the temperature was 13 degrees and the wind chill was between 2 and 8 degrees below zero.

Between 9 and 11 tonight, the snow will start, but a warm front will turn the snow into freezing rain early Saturday and then regular rain.

Saturday will bring temperatures in the mid-40s.

Temperatures will fall to the 20s Sunday with snow flurries expected.

Last December was the warmest December on record for the Mahoning Valley.

“This December is much more of a typical December,” Wilhelm said.

At Thursday’s Mahoning County commissioners meeting, Dr. Joseph Ohr, the county’s forensic pathologist and deputy coroner, emphasized the need for extreme caution and alertness for motorists and for pedestrians walking in streets or roads when sidewalks and berms are snow- and ice-covered.

Several Valley pedestrians die each winter when they are hit by vehicles under these conditions when motorists can’t easily see them, who often wear dark clothing, Dr. Ohr said.

Pedestrians should walk facing the traffic, rather than with traffic behind them, he said.

“Never, ever assume that the car can or will stop for you,” Dr. Ohr advised pedestrians. “If you’re a driver, never, ever assume that the pedestrian can see you or hear you. They have their hoods on. They have their hats on. They’re looking at their feet to stay upright.”

County Engineer Patrick Ginnetti said motorists who either go too fast for weather and road conditions or too slow can pose winter road hazards.

“I watched a car two days ago on Youngstown-Poland Road driving so slow the ODOT [Ohio Department of Transportation] plow truck was having trouble” performing snow and ice removal, he said.

“People have to pay attention when they’re driving,” he said. “Too fast and too slow are both bad. Give yourself some time so you can get there, but at the same time, driving 10 mph in a 50-mph zone causes problems.”

The U.S. Postal Service asks that you clear a path to your mailbox during winter. Postal workers know to dress in layers and prepare appropriately for the outside conditions.

“It’s Ohio and we are well prepared for it,” said David G. Van Allen, USPS spokesman.

The cold weather doesn’t keep people from shopping. In fact, Joe Bell, spokesman for the Cafaro Co., which operates the Eastwood Mall Complex in Niles, saw a crowd of people in the concourse early Thursday.

“This goes back to an old trend that in bad weather you tend to get more people coming into an enclosed mall to shop,” Bell said. “If the weather stays cold, people are going to come out and soak up a warmer environment during the Christmas week.”

Do-Cut Sales and Service Inc. in Boardman has been busier this December compared to last.

“Snowblower sales are actually doing very well,” said Sean Neuroh, equipment salesman at Do-Cut. “It all depends on what’s going on outside. Last year was a mild winter.”

Contributors: Reporters Kalea Hall, Peter H. Milliken and David Skolnick.