Deep freeze descends on Miami Valley, making driving hazardous

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By Steve Bennish and Katherine Ullmer
Staff Writers Updated 10:14 PM Monday, January 4, 2010

DAYTON — Icy conditions were being blamed for several accidents Monday night, Jan. 4, on Miami Valley roadways.

In Washington Twp., at least two vehicles slid into the grassy median along Interstate 675 about 8:30 p.m. There were no reports of injuries, but traffic was slowed to approximately 25 mph near the Wilmington Pike exit.

In Warren County, drivers were being urged to use caution if automobile travel is necessary during the next two to three hours, until road crews can get salt applied to road surfaces, county Administrator David Gully said.

I-71 north at Fields-Ertle Road was restricted to two lanes of travel at 8:45 p.m. because of a semi-trailer that jack-knifed and leaked fuel on the roadway.

A heavy-duty wrecker was dispatched to retrieve the truck, Gully said, which would shut down all northbound lanes to allow for the wrecker to extraction.

The Ohio Highway Patrol was on the scene.

Patrol Sgt. Joseph Gebhart of the Xenia post said drivers should take their time getting to their destinations.

“We need people to slow down and increase their distance between them and other cars to allow plenty of reaction time,” he said.

Throughout the day in the Miami Valley, salt trucks prowled streets and roadways and homeless shelters geared up for more clients as the region settled into what is expected to be a week-long deep freeze.

Arctic air was pulled south into the eastern half of the country by a southern-shifted jet stream, said Myron Padgett, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Wilmington.

Padgett said highs will only reach the 20s for the next week. Light snow was falling on the region Monday night and accumulation is expected to be an inch or less.

The cold caused at least one building casualty Monday as Dayton Christian Schools closed its Dayton campus because of problems with the heating system.

Two shelters operated by St. Vincent de Paul readied for an increase in demand, said Ann Goebel, the nonprofit group’s director for shelter programs.

“We do get a few more in, another 15 to 20 probably, (and) it just gradually builds,” Goebel said. “It’s nothing we don’t expect and nothing we can’t handle. People are not turned away.”

Goebel said the shelters, including the Gettysburg Gateway for Men, the former Dayton Rehabilitation Center at 1921 S. Gettysburg Ave., can hold more than 200 each.

The other shelter, a family facility, is on Apple Street.

Another snow storm system will be coming in from the plains Thursday, Jan. 7, forecasters predict, but it’s too early to say how much the system will bring.

Friday will bring a 40 percent chance of snow showers with lows at night being around 5 degrees, the weather service said.

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