Snow remnants, temperature drops expected through the day

Shift from rain to ice and snow brings slide-offs across area

Winter Weather Advisory cancelled for: Auglaize, Butler, Champaign, Clark, Darke, Green, Logan, Miami, Montgomery, Preble, Shelby, Warren

Roads in the Miami Valley region continue to be slick after being blanketed by snow Friday evening, following hours of rain and sleet earlier in the day.

However, snow will slowly taper off from west to east over the next few hours. But, gusty winds will create blowing and drifting of the snow through the night, even once the snow stops falling. This will create some rough travel, especially in rural areas.

With a bit of a faster end to the snow – it looks like total accumulations will range from one to three inches for areas along and west of I-75 but areas between 75 and I-71 could pick up closer to four inches.

Earlier in the evening, blowing and drifting snow and icy conditions led officials to issue level 1 snow emergencies for Clark, Champaign, Darke, Logan, and Montgomery counties.

Greene County is currently at a level 2 snow emergency.

Between two to four inches were expected from Friday into Saturday morning across most of the Miami Valley region, as temperatures dip into the lower teens.

Related: Who has the most snow? Check out totals

The wintry mix of snow and sleet has transportation officials cautioning residents to stay off the roads except for absolutely necessary trips.

Throughout the evening, the Ohio Department of Transportation map showed vehicles traveling below normal speeds on all the major interstates and highways.

STAY ALERT: Dayton traffic from the WHIO traffic center

The snowy weather lingered in the eastern half of the Miami Valley headed into the evening hours Friday, but by about midnight, most of the region should saw a break in the snowfall, said Kirstie Zontini, WHIO-TV meteorologist.

But it will be cold, with the high temperature on Saturday being 19 degrees.

Saturday is expected to have some leftover flurries and dusty winds, with temperature dropping to about 5 degrees during the night, said WHIO-TV meteorologist Eric Elwell.

Related: Dayton-area traffic: Snow, freezing rain causing issues

The bad weather caused problems for motorists.

A semi-trailer overturned on Interstate 70 in Clark County and a crash involving a medic at North Dixie Drive and Frederick Pike impacted traffic in Harrison Twp.

RELATED: Winter Weather Advisory issued today as winter storm moves in

Traffic was light on many roads across the region by early evening, as people seemed to hunker down.

Earlier on Friday, the city of Dayton had 45 trucks on the road — nearly its entire fleet — salting highways, thoroughfares, bridges, hills and major connector streets, said Fred Stovall, Dayton’s director of public works.

“We want to make sure what we call our primary 1 and 2 streets are clear so everyone can get home,” Stovall said.

Crews will eventually get to the residential streets, but that may not happen until Saturday, depending on how much snow falls and collects, he said.

Related: Winter storm timeline: Conditions worsening as snow continue to fall

The city does not plow residential streets unless they have 4 inches of snow, but it does treat them if they have ice.

Temperatures are dropping, and the rain has turned to sleet and the wet roads are icing over, Stovall said.

The storm led to the canceling or the postponement of numerous events across the region.

The city cancelled all recreation events through Jan. 13, including citywide basketball and the MLK youth World House party.

Drivers should accelerate and deaccelerate more slowly during bad weather and drive a speed reasonable for the conditions, said Sgt. Mark Bowron, traffic reporter for WHIO Radio.

Braking on icy roads takes much longer than on dry pavement, increasing stopping times from three to four seconds to eight to 10, he said.

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