The traffic accidents served as a reminder that winter driving can be dangerous for rusty drivers.
“Usually that first snowfall, you just aren’t used to driving in those types of conditions, so muscle memory and that kind of thing poses problems for a lot of people,” said McCall Vrydaghs, WHIO-TV chief meteorologist.
Clark County Engineer Johnathan Burr said about noon Saturday that his crews were working shifts of 12 hours, then rotate.
Each crew member covers about 30 miles of roads each, making it a challenge “just keeping up with it.”
“If you get an inch an hour, we will catch up, but it will be once the snow slows down,” he said. “You could have 3 or 4 hours of accumulation by the time a truck comes back around on a route.”
Burr said the storm was expected end up being the most snow in a few years.
“Everybody kind of forgets what that means,” he said.
Though the storm should be over by Sunday morning, areas that were left untreated or were not thoroughly cleared out likely experienced re-freeze as temperatures dipped, meaning there will be slick spots on roads that could possibly last until Monday, Vrydaghs said.
“It was for the most part it was what we expected,” she said.
About 3.25 inches had fallen in Springfield Twp. by about 3:30 p.m.
In Springfield, the city had 14 trucks in service, treating streets, according to Chris Moore, service director.
“So far, everything is going great,” Moore said Saturday afternoon. “The main roads are very navigable.”
“We are putting down salt right now, and it’s working,” he said.
Springfield crews started shifts at 7 a.m., around the time the snow started falling. Moore said after the snow ends, crews will assess what the needs are for Sunday.
Though the storm should be over by Sunday morning, areas that were left untreated or were not thoroughly cleared likely experienced re-freeze as temperatures dipped, meaning there will be slick spots on roads. That could possibly last until Monday, Vrydaghs said.
As of Saturday afternoon, the weather had not caused significant power outages nor delayed flights at Dayton International Airport.
Ohio wasn’t the hardest hit by the blast of winter.
The system snarled traffic in several states and left thousands without power.
The storm moved into Kansas and Nebraska from the Rockies on Friday, then east into Missouri and Illinois, covering roads and making driving dangerous. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says nearly 300 vehicles had slid off roads across the state and more than 175 crashes had been reported by late Saturday morning.
By late morning Saturday, officials had reported nearly 11 inches of snow at Lambert International Airport in St. Louis, where most flights were canceled or delayed.
Staff Writer Cornelius Frolik contributed to this report.
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