State officials are warning Ohio residents and visitors to be aware of the winter storm moving into Ohio this weekend.
Gov. Mike DeWine said Friday everybody who can stay inside should do so, calling the forecast a “serious danger” and encouraging Ohioans to enjoy a book or a movie, football, or—if they are of-age—a glass of wine or a beer. “It can be a very, very fun weekend,” DeWine said.
Ohio Department of Transportation spokesperson Matt Bruning said Thursday the biggest issue is how cold it will be in addition to the snowfall totals.
“This weekend, if you can stay home, do it,” Bruning said. “The goal during storms like this, or any storm, is passable, not perfect.”
As of Friday morning, the National Weather Service was forecasting several inches of snow moving into most of Ohio by Saturday afternoon and continuing into Sunday. Bruning said interstate and state highway conditions will likely still be dicey for the Monday commute.
“Because of the lower temperatures, it’s going to take us longer to recover these roads ... than it would if temperatures were in the mid-20s,” he said.
Some northeast Ohio local governments are facing rock salt shortages already, according to Ideastream.
When it hits below 20 degrees Fahrenheit on the roads, Bruning said salt alone isn’t as effective. Right now, ODOT has enough for “this storm and the very near future.”
For residents and travelers who will be on Ohio roadways this weekend and early next, he also asked them to give ODOT plow trucks room to work. More than 30 plow trucks have been involved in collisions this winter, after 54 last winter.
“You will lose every battle with a plow, unless you’re in a semi-truck, so don’t test them. It's just not worth it,” Bruning said.
This weekend is going to be all hands on deck for Ohio State Highway Patrol, Lieutenant Brice Nihiser said.
“Our main job is to make sure that drivers are safe when they go out, and then to handle those crashes, when they do come,” Nihiser said. ”We know there’s going to be crashes this weekend.”
County sheriffs issue snow emergency levels—and he said if a county rises to a Level 3, the most severe, drivers in crashes might be issued citations.
