Not even Big Chill keeps ice cream devotees away

By JESSICA HARDIN

and DAVID SKOLNICK

news@vindy.com

YOUNGSTOWN

Winter Ice Cream

Video

Even in the dead of Winter ice cream is a big hit Handel's stores in the Valley do a brisk business.

Thursday’s frigid temperatures kept many people indoors, but the chill did not deter the Valley’s most devoted ice cream lovers.

At Handel’s on South Avenue in Boardman, Jim and Joanne Neidhardt enjoyed ice cream in their warm car Thursday afternoon.

The Boardman residents have been coming to Handel’s for 25 years.

“We were bored, and we wanted something sweet,” Jim said.

Hannah Hiscox and Kayla Dickson, Youngstown State University students from Lisbon, braved the cold for dishes of their favorite flavor, Graham Central Station.

“We just love Handel’s,” said Hiscox.

The pair said they go to Handel’s about once or twice weekly.

“We always come together. We’re ice cream buddies,” Dickson said.

When it comes to the weather, the worst is over – at least for a while.

There was still some damage done to one downtown Youngstown center caused by the icy temperatures.

OH WOW! The Roger & Gloria Jones Children’s Center for Science & Technology, 11 W. Federal St., is temporarily closed due to plumbing issues.

The center located in the historic McCrory building is dealing with frozen pipes due to the continued extreme cold weather. OH WOW! will stay closed until the issues are resolved, according to a news release. There is no word on when repairs are expected to be finished.

It’s still going to be cold this morning in the Mahoning Valley with a low about 10 degrees, but it will get gradually warmer with a high near 21 degrees, said Raelene Campbell, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

While still below average for this time of the year in the area, it’s a lot better than Wednesday and Thursday.

The low Wednesday was minus 5 degrees and minus 7 on Thursday with wind chills both days at minus 30.

The average high for the area for this time of the year is 33 degrees, and the average low is 19.

It’s going to be considerably warmer the next few days.

“It’s almost like springtime weather,” Campbell said.

The high Saturday will be near 40 degrees. There’s a chance of rain and snow Saturday but little to no accumulation of snow is expected.

The low Saturday will be about 34 degrees.

Sunday will be even better, with a high near 50 degrees.

While there’s a chance of showers Monday through Wednesday, it will continue to be unseasonably warm.

The high Monday is expected to be near 53 degrees and a low about 40.

The high Tuesday should be near 49 degrees with a low near 37 degrees.

The high Wednesday is predicted to be near 52 degrees.