COLUMBUS (WCMH) — With the possibility for several inches of snow throughout central Ohio, Columbus and ODOT crews are out preparing the roads for the weather.
The City of Columbus Snow Warriors have been performing anti-icing efforts since Sunday night and will continue to do so until no longer necessary. The city says 82 trucks and about 15 tons of salt are ready to be put in service.
Once the snow falls, you can go to warriorwatch.columbus.gov to see what city streets have been serviced in the past 72 hours and to check the priority level of your street.READ MORE: Check live VIPIR radar as snow moves towards Ohio
Shawn Rostorfer, manager of the ODOT garage in Northeast Franklin County says they are preparing for an around the clock operation . “This is a kind of all-hands-on-deck Storm,” Rostorfer said. “It’s not just a little dusting or some slick bridges. It’s going to be measurable snowfall.”
Rostorfer said he expects ODOT will have close to 45 trucks in Franklin County out plowing and applying salt once the snow starts to fall.
ODOT crews are out ahead of the storm applying a chemical brine to some roads, ramps, bridges and overpasses. “To have a little bit of salt residue on the roads gives our crews a chance to get in their trucks and be prepared on the roads for when it does start snowing,” Rostorfer said.READ MORE: Latest forecast from Storm Team 4
Counties to the north may get upwards of 3-4 inches (Bucyrus, Marion, Crawford out toward Coshocton). But for the Columbus metro, it’s only looking like 1-2 inches with even less to the south toward Athens, Ross & Pike counties.
It will all be tapering off or moving out to the east by the morning commute. After that, the cold and wind will be the weather story, again! Highs in the 20s through Wednesday, with wind chills in the single digits tonight as lows dip into the teens.
Several hardware stores NBC4 spoke with said they still have plenty of snow removal supplies on hand, but it’s been put in storage, because of how late it is in the season.
“I thought this snow stuff was gone, I thought we pretty much had it made. This is some new popup stuff, but this is Ohio,” said Gary Watkins, who lives in Linden, but drives to Ace in Clintonville.
Several shoppers said the warmer weather made many people lower their guard. But it is not all bad news; more snow could be beneficial for some.
“We are hoping it does happen so we can get rid of some of our ice melt, tube sand, and shovels,” said Mark Ruff, Store Manager at the Clintonville Schreiner Ace Hardware.
Ruff said the store still has plenty of those along with ice scrappers left over after a mild winter. But Ruff said they are in a good position because they can store the supplies until next winter. He said their bestselling shovels are the ergonomic ones.
A Long-time shopper at Ace, Bill Korting said he’s seen his fair-share of late Central Ohio storms.
“I am not that concerned about it at all, I’ve seen two late-season snows in April, they were considered blizzards,” Korting said.
Much like what the East Coast is expecting over the next 24 hours. A powerful nor’easter could bring blizzard conditions and more than a foot of snow to some parts of the Northeast, proving that winter is not done yet.