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Sub-freezing and sub-zero temperatures are on tap
YOUNGSTOWN
Mahoning Valley communities and residents spent Sunday digging out from one of the worst winter snowstorms in recent years that dumped 12 inches or more in some areas, only to face dangerous subzero temperatures today and in the days to come.
The down-trend in temperatures started Sunday with a reading of 10 degrees at 4 p.m. at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport in Vienna, according to the National Weather Service.
Temperatures were expected to fall close to zero Sunday night and tonight and Tuesday morning, accompanied by wind-chill factors that will push temperatures to 10 to 15 degrees below zero, according to the NWS.
In the 24-hour period beginning at 10:45 a.m. Saturday, the snowstorm, named Winter Storm Harper, left from 9.7 inches on the ground at the Youngstown-Warren Regional Airport to 12 inches in Cortland in Trumbull County and Campbell in Mahoning County.
One of the heavier periods of snowfall was between 3 and 4 a.m. Sunday before it began to taper off, reported the NWS.
“We probably got a foot or better of snow. The storm was everything it was predicted to be; and a little rain mixed in didn’t help the clean-up effort,” said Youngstown Mayor Jamael Tito Brown, whose street department has 982 streets to plow.
Brown, speaking from the Street Department Sunday afternoon, said crews are working around the clock in 12-hour shifts, from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., and private contractors have been hired to help clear away the snow.
“All hands are on deck, and street department personnel are working tirelessly around the clock,” the mayor said.
To facilitate the cleanup and for the safety of residents and workers, Brown urged people not to go out unless absolutely necessary and to adhere to the citywide parking ban.
“It would make the clean-up easier, quicker and safer,” the mayor said.
Brown said the main streets were the priority during the storm but that crews were starting Sunday to work on side streets.
“Residents will see a great deal of progress now that the snow has stopped. This was not a normal snowfall. We will get to them in the next day or so,” said Brown, who asked people to be patient.
The mayor also asked that people check on the well-being of their elderly neighbors and family members who might not be able to fend for themselves in the inclement weather.
One disaster that was avoided during the storm, despite freezing rain in some areas, was power outages.
According to FirstEnergy Ohio Edison as of 4 p.m. Sunday, there were either zero or fewer than five customers without power in Trumbull, Mahoning, Columbiana and Ashtabula counties.