The shelter will be hosted by East High Street Church of the Nazarene, and its entrance is at the corner of High Street and Ludlow Avenue. COVID-19 precautions will be taken, the city said.
Credit: Marshall Gorby
Credit: Marshall Gorby
It will be sunny Saturday with a high in the lower 20s. However, with light and variable winds, the wind chill could be as low as 5 below zero during the early part of the day.
The overnight low Saturday will fall to 8 degree with mostly clear skies.
A warmup comes on Sunday, when it will be sunny with a high in the middle 30s.
The emergency shelter is a collaborative response coordinated by the Nehemiah Foundation, East High Street Church of the Nazarene, Interfaith Hospitality Network, City of Springfield, Clark County Government, Clark County Combined Health District and many other local support networks, according to the release. Volunteer opportunities are being managed by United Way of Clark Champaign and Madison Counties.
The winter snow storm on Friday caused county operations, schools and even some employers to close or delay due to several inches of snow, heavy ice accumulation and sleet that lead to dangerous driving conditions.
The storm brought in several inches of snow in many counties, including 6.5 inches reported in New Carlisle and Christiansburg and 4 inches reported in Medway. Two of the highest snow totals reached Logan County with 9 inches in Bellefontaine and 7.8 inches in Russells Point, according to the NWS.
The Clark County Sheriff’s Office, county engineer and Ohio Department of Transportation continue to monitor the roads in the county.
County officials and ODOT urged motorists to stay off the streets unless necessary as crews work to clear and treat the roads.
Friday included hazardous conditions that impacted morning and afternoon commute, according to the NWS. Once the snow moved out, there were cloudy skies for the day with a high near 21 degrees and dropping to about 2 degrees at night.
Credit: Marshall Gorby
Credit: Marshall Gorby
Springfield had about 25 street crews who have been working in shifts to treat the snow fall and icy roads since Wednesday.
The winter storm that brought heavy ice, freezing rain and inches of snow caused most area counties to declare a Level 2 snow emergency Thursday through Friday, including both Clark and Champaign counties. Clark County was downgraded to a Level 1 and Champaign County was no longer under a snow emergency by Friday afternoon.
“At Level 2, roadways are hazardous with blowing and drifting snow. Roads are also icy. Only those who feel it is necessary to drive should be out on the roads and should use extreme caution,” the Clark County Sheriff’s Office said in a Facebook post.
A Level 3 would only be issued if roads became impassible, meaning the roads are closed and anyone other than emergency personnel driving on them would be subject to arrested, the sheriff’s office stated in the post. There are currently no roads that are impassible.
Dangerous driving conditions caused a few accidents Friday on Interstate-70, including three slide offs involving tractor trailers from the slick roads. One tractor trailer slid into a tree line, causing heavy damage; another slid across the median into the other lane; and a third jackknifed off the highway.
Several county offices were delayed Friday morning, but were open, including: commission; municipal, juvenile and probate court; and board of elections.
The county offices that remained closed to the public on Friday included: common pleas court, recorder’s, auditor’s and treasurer’s offices.
All districts in Clark and Champaign counties closed school on Friday. Both Clark State College and Wittenberg University were also closed and moved to virtual learning and operations on Friday.
Credit: Marshall Gorby
Credit: Marshall Gorby
