The Tri-State is digging out Monday. Cincinnati saw a record-breaking snow on Sunday. It wasn't the all-time record snowfall for a 24-hour period in Cincinnati, but it was close. Our news partner WCPO reports we broke the daily total for January 25 of 9.2" of total snowfall, ending up with 10.2"
All that snow will intensify the cold for days ahead. It will never feel above zero today, according to 9 First Warning Weather. A cold weather advisory is in effect Monday because of the cold. That continues until 6 p.m. Then, starting at 6 p.m., an extreme cold warning begins for the Tri-State and will continue through 12 p.m. Tuesday.
This warning means that dangerously cold wind chills are expected.
Snow-covered Roads
Roads will remain in bad condition, though no new snow is in expected.
Road crews have been going non-stop since before the snow started Saturday. The Ohio Department of Transportation is responsible for the state highway system — that is state, federal and interstate routes outside of municipalities.
Public Information Officer Kathleen Fuller spoke with WVXU early Monday morning.
"Right now, we still have a lot of snow covered roads but we are making progress, particularly on the interstates in Hamilton County. We are getting some things, not fully cleared by any means, but we are seeing some pavement. There has been progress made," she said.
Fuller notes the extreme cold isn't going to help things any.
"There will be a tremendous impact. Because of the cold temperatures, materials are going to be somewhat ineffective. So it's really just a lot of having the plows down on the pavement and trying to push it off. We really just hope that ... the snow hasn't turned into some sort of ice and compacted to the pavement, and that is a real threat," she says.
The best way to help is to stay off the roads. If you do have to drive, give plows plenty of space to work.
As plow crews in your community get to clearing secondary streets and neighborhoods, officials have a big recommendation to save yourself a lot of headache: You should shovel snow to the right side of your driveway — that's to your right as you're facing the street. Doing this helps prevent snow from being pushed back into your driveway when the plow comes through.
Snow emergencies
As of 7:30 a.m. snow emergencies remain in effect in the following counties:
Level 3:
- Ohio: Hamilton County and Highland County
- Kentucky: Bracken, Mason, Gallatin, Grant, Owen and Pendleton counties.
- Indiana (Red): Dearborn, Switzerland, Ohio, Fayette and Ripley counties
Level 2:
- Ohio: Butler, Clermont, Clinton and Warren counties.
- Kentucky: Boone, Campbell and Kenton counties
- Indiana (Orange): Union
Snowfall totals
Batesville, Indiana turned in the highest total snowfall after noon Sunday at 12.9" followed by Middletown at 12". The National Weather Service shows totals across the region from 7.5" in Madeira, 8.8" in Glendale, and 10.5" in Hamilton.
Power
There's good news from an energy standpoint. As of 7:30 a.m. Monday, Duke Energy was reporting only a handful of customers in the area without power.
We've, so far, dodged a potential catastrophe that could have been caused with ice build-up on power lines. Duke says half an inch of ice can down power lines. That's usually caused by freezing rain; sleet poses less of a risk because it doesn't accumulate on lines.
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