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A jack-knifed tractor-trailer closed both eastbound Interstate 70 lanes around 9:15 a.m., Feb. 10, 2010. There were no injuries and the interstate was reopened before noon.

doug page A jack-knifed tractor-trailer closed both eastbound Interstate 70 lanes around 9:15 a.m., Feb. 10, 2010. There were no injuries and the interstate was reopened before noon.

By Steve Bennish, Doug Page and Kyle Nagel
Staff Writers Updated 11:21 PM Wednesday, February 10, 2010

DAYTON — If the drive home Wednesday evening, Feb. 10, was bearable, it might not be the same heading to work Thursday.

The National Weather Service issued an alert at 10 p.m. Wednesday that areas of light freezing rain through 3 a.m. Thursday could cause untreated walkways and roadways to gain a thin layer of ice. But the snow, for the time being, has passed. The winter storm warning issued by the weather service ended at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Nevertheless, hazardous roads continued to cause slideoffs and crashes on the major highways and side roads as authorities urged motorists to slow down and take their time to get to destinations.

But the good news is that snow has diminished to flurries across the region, the NWS said. Winds will gradually decrease as well, although some localized blowing and drifting will continue into the evening. It won’t cause significant visibility restrictions, however.

This morning a jack-knifed tractor-trailer closed both eastbound Interstate 70 lanes east of Brookville around 9:15 a.m. this morning, Feb. 10. There were no injuries, but traffic was stopped for three hours.

Highway Patrol Lt. Douglas Eck said drivers need to be alert for rapidly changing weather conditions.

“Don’t let your guard down,” said Eck, the Eaton/Dayton post commander. “Conditions can do from wet roads to ice quickly,” Eck said.

Meanwhile, five cities remained under declarations of snow emergencies: Englewood, Clayton, Union, Trotwood and Huber Heights. Fairborn lifted its emergency today.

Residents should remove their vehicles from city streets and not block sidewalks, and clear areas adjacent to street mail boxes to allow mail delivery.

John Glover, ODOT manager for Montgomery County, said his crews faced problems this morning when melting solution dropped on the interstates was diluted by blowing snow. “It flashed over (from water) to ice quickly,” Glover said.

Glover said he will have 11 crews on the roads tonight clearing drifts until midnight. By then, Glover believes most of the problems will be solved as the afternoon’s higher temperatures and winds should lead to dry pavement. “Then we’ll rearm for the morning rush hour,” he said.

Another storm system is expected to come through the Miami Valley around Sunday. Glover said his crews and machines will be ready. He said there was plenty of salt, melting solutions and money left to keep the roads clear.

Eck stressed that drivers needed to slow down and give ODOT trucks plenty of room. Through the past two storms, OSP reported 193 slideoffs in Montgomery, Darke and Preble counties with no injuries or damage. Another 93 had damage, and nine had injuries.

“The slower speeds prevented damage and injuries,” Eck said.

Numerous reports of black ice have been reported, the Patrol said.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol also briefly shut down northbound Interstate 675, two miles north of U.S. Route 35, to let the salt trucks make a few passes because of icy conditions.

Clark County had a four-mile stretch of roadway with more than a half dozen vehicle slide offs because of black ice. Both eastbound and westbound Interstate 70 are hazardous and had slide offs and crashes, according to Ohio State Patrol and WHIO-TV reports.

A crash on eastbound Interstate 70 at U.S. 68 in Clark County had a car on its top. No injuries were reported from that crash, according to an Ohio State Patrol dispatcher from the Springfield post.

Secondary roads in southern Miami County and northwestern Montgomery County are snow-covered but passable this morning. Traffic is moving at slower speeds and intersections remain slick.

Snow emergencies

A few inches of new snow overnight brought snow-covered roads with blowing and drifting snow and more than 300 school issuing delays and closures.

Darke County dropped from a Level 3 snow advisory to a Level 2 at 2 p.m.

Still, the county intends to raise the advisory level to Level 3 at 10 p.m., meaning only emergency vehicles should be on the roads. Most county and township roads are expected to become impassable again.

Other counties with Level 2 snow advisories include: Champaign, Clark, Greene, Logan, Preble, Wayne, and Miami County. Drivers should only be out if necessary in these counties. At Level 2 roadways are hazardous with blowing and drifting snow. Roads can be very icy. Only those who feel it is necessary to drive should be out on the roadways. People should contact their employer to see if they should report to work. If you are driving, you should use extreme caution.

Montgomery, Mercer and Butler counties are at a Level 1 snow advisory, meaning roads are hazardous and drivers should drive slowly and cautiously.

Forecast

According to WHIO-TV meteorologist Rich Wirdzek, we should see a few flurries this afternoon. The area’s Winter Storm Warning will remain until 6 p.m. today.

Meteorologist Mike Kurz with the National Weather Service in Wilmington said temperatures will remain in the mid to upper 20s for the rest of the week.

There is a chance of snow Saturday night through Sunday night, but Kurz said it will mostly just be windy and cold today and tomorrow.

The cold temperatures will keep the snow on the ground from melting anytime soon, Kurz said. He said flooding is not likely unless there a sudden increase in temperatures.

“A gradual melting will occur if (the temperature) reaches the 30s,” Kurz said.

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