Lorain County braces for bitter cold as it digs out from 6 to 12 inches of snowfall

Lorain County dug out Monday from a major weekend storm that saw between 6 and 12 inches of snow dumped on most of the county. The highest reported totals were 12 inches in Oberlin and more than 10 inches in Avon, according to the National Weather Service in Cleveland. Danger doesn't stop when the snow does: The NWS said an extreme cold warning remains in effect through 11 a.m. today, with dangerously cold wind chills between minus 20 and minus 27 expected across all of northern Ohio. Citing the ongoing extreme cold, Elyria announced late Monday that its emergency warming shelter at the South Recreation Center at 101 South Park Drive will remain open until 8 a.m. Feb. 3. Those who don't have adequate heating are invited, and leashed or crated pets also are welcome. Most Lorain County schools canceled classes for the second day in a row due to expected low temperatures. Many students walk to school or wait outdoors for their buses, and frostbite can happen within minutes. County Sheriff Jack Hall lowered the county's Level 2 snow emergency to a Level 1 as of Monday afternoon. The Level 1 snow emergency is due to high winds that can cause snow drifting and icy road conditions, the sheriff's office said. A snow parking ban in the townships remains in effect, and motorists are asked to be careful while traveling. Snowfall Best estimates made shortly before 3 p.m. Monday put the total snowfall at 6 to 12 inches across Lorain County, with the highest totals seemingly concentrated in a line from Lorain in the north to Wellington in the south. Oberlin reportedly got the worst of it, with one NWS observer reporting 12 inches of accumulated snowfall as of 8 a.m. Avon had 10.1 inches as of 7 a.m., a Community Collaborative Rain, Hail and Snow Network volunteer observer reported to the NWS at 7 a.m. Monday. A trained spotter in North Ridgeville reported 9.5 inches at 8:30 a.m., and another observer reported 9 inches in Wellington around 8 a.m. The weather service NWS said observers are trained to ignore areas where drifting, blowing snow accumulates. Up to 1 inch of snow accumulation may have been added to Monday morning's totals by mid-afternoon in places where it continued to fall. Totals were expected to be updated around 10 p.m. Monday evening, according to the NWS. Emergency preparedness No major incidents resulting from the storm were reported Monday, county officials said. "We were well-prepared. Nothing major happened, thankfully," said Dave Freeman, director of the Lorain County Emergency Management Agency. He said he spent a sleepless night Saturday coordinating emergency preparedness response, preparing and sending out CodeRED system emergency messages and coordinating with other agencies, including the Lorain County Sheriff's Office. Preparedness included having 30 4-by-4 trucks with volunteers at the wheel ready to transport doctors and nurses from their homes to University Hospitals Elyria Medical Center in in the snow if needed. It turned out they weren't needed, but they were ready, Freeman said. Lorain County EMA also had two 4-by-4 trucks ready to pick up Lorain County 911 dispatchers if they couldn't get to work, he said. Unofficially, Freeman estimated a foot of unplowed snow in the back parking lot of the EMA offices on North Gateway Boulevard in Elyria at about 2:30 p.m. Monday. Freeman said the Sheriff's Office and State Highway Patrol reported no major traffic crashes in the county on Sunday. Statewide, the Highway Patrol reported troopers responded to more than 2,700 crashes, stranded motorists and other calls for service and safety in two days. The International City digs out Crews in Lorain worked continuously from midnight Sunday morning through Monday evening to clear city roadways, Public Properties Manager Lori Garcia said Monday afternoon. The city's 27 Street Department employees manned plows in three groups of 16-hour shifts, starting with main roadways and working their way to side streets as snow fell, doing the brunt of the work from about 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sunday. "I think they did phenomenal," she said. Garcia estimated crews put in about 30 hours of overtime, as Street Department staff do not normally work weekends, to get the roads passable for motorists. "It was pretty amazing how smooth it was for as long as it snowed," she said. Garcia estimated crews would be out continuously until 8-9 p.m. Monday to clear streets curb-to-curb. The large amount of snow coming down meant less salt needed on the roads, she said, as much of the area is experiencing a road salt shortage. Lorain still has about 1,000 tons of salt in its storage bin and expects to receive another shipment in mid-February. Frigid temperatures make road salt less effective, meaning if the city were to put down salt, it would have to use nine times the amount it normally does, Garcia said. "Honestly, the roads have some snow on them, but they're not bad," she said. "They're not horrible, just slippery. You have to go slow and just drive for the conditions." Mike Duffield, a Lorain resident who has a plow truck business, spent much of Sunday fielding calls from residents in Lorain and Elyria. "I think with this storm I took over 300 to 400 phone calls," he said Monday afternoon. "It gets hectic — this is probably one of the roughest (storms) this time." On Sunday night, a video posted to social media captured Duffield clearing a side street in South Lorain that city workers had yet to reach. Clearing residential roads is not out of Duffield's wheelhouse, he said, and often tries to given residents a path down their road once he digs out their driveways. He said the hardest thing is finding somewhere to put all the snow. County, state crews at work The Lorain County Engineer's Office had 12 trucks running on 12-hour shifts during and after the storm. Collectively, they spread about 100 tons of grit-and-salt mix, concentrating on hills, curves and intersections, Assistant County Engineer Robert Klaiber said. One plow truck was involved in a minor crash with another vehicle at Cooper Foster Park Road and Broadway in Sheffield Township, he said. No injuries were reported. A grit-and-salt mix is primarily used on rural roads where it won't foul or damage storm sewers, curbs and gutters like those found in suburban or urban settings, Klaiber said. Then there's the problem of salt alone not working as well at lower temperatures as it does when it is in the 20s or 30s, Klaiber said. The concern now is the wind picking up in rural areas of the county, where it can both blow the salt off the roads and blow more snow onto them, he said. "The wind is supposed to pick up tonight, so this light snow I'm sure will drift," Klaiber said. The Ohio Department of Transportation and Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission also asked motorists not to speed, to be aware of icy and slushy road conditions, to allow time to travel and to not follow other traffic too closely. Turnpike workers had 33,000 tons of salt, 120,000 gallons of liquid deicer and 98 snowplows available in 12‑hour shifts where necessary, officials there said in a news release. By 12:30 p.m. Monday, Turnpike plow crews had used approximately 5,600 tons of salt and 61,000 gallons of liquid de-icer, officials said. Motorists were asked to stay at least 200 feet back from Turnpike plows and avoid passing on the right, where the snow is pushed. Cancellations and closures In addition to school cancellations, multiple public meetings and events were canceled and rescheduled. The Amherst Board of Education canceled Monday's meeting. It will meet instead at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in the Marion L. Steele High School Creative Learning Center. South Amherst Village Council canceled Monday's meeting. It is rescheduled for 7 p.m. Feb. 2. Vermilion City Council's Monday meeting was canceled. It will meet instead at 6 p.m. Wednesday. Second Harvest Food Bank canceled a drive-through food pantry in Elyria, and the Oberlin Public Library canceled programs. Residential waste haulers including Kimble and Republic Services and Elyria's sanitation department canceled trash and recycling pickup Monday. Collection will be on a one-day delay the rest of the week, the county Solid Waste Management District and affected cities reported. Winter weather and cold safety An Arctic air mass will continue to affect Ohio throughout the week, Gov. Mike DeWine's office said Monday, with the coldest temperatures arriving today and the cold continuing through the first week of February. "Although the statewide threat for heavy falling snow has passed, the extreme cold is only just beginning and is expected to last for some time," DeWine said. "I encourage everyone to take caution for their own health and safety and for the health and safety of family, friends, and neighbors." Frostbite and hypothermia can occur within minutes, so time outdoors should be limited and people should bundle up in layers against the cold, the NWS said. Pets should be kept indoors as much as possible and their outdoor time limited. The NWS and state officials also recommends checking on older family members, friends and neighbors regularly. Water pipes should be wrapped, drained or allowed to drip slowly to prevent freezing. Follow instructions on portable heaters and do not use generators or grills inside due to risk of fire and carbon monoxide poisoning. Local fire departments remind residents to keep any exhaust pipes on the outside of homes free of built-up snow and ice. They also requested that fire hydrants be shoveled clear in case of emergency. If you get stuck in the snow while driving or get into a crash, the Highway Patrol recommends getting as far off the roadway as possible, turning on your hazard lights and calling #677 or 911. If it's safe, stay in your vehicle. Troopers recommend making sure tires have enough air before travel, that car batteries are fully charged and windshield washer reservoirs are full. Every vehicle should have tools like an ice scraper, shovel, jumper cables, and flashlight with extra batteries. Other items like blankets, cell phone charges, first aid kits, water and food also are important, the Highway Patrol said. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Contact Carissa Woytach at (440) 329-7245 or cwoytach@chroniclet.com.