Hancock County to continue seeing frigid temps

FINDLAY — Hancock County Sheriff Michael Cortez declared the Level 3 snow emergency would stay in effect until 9 a.m. Tuesday morning, according to a Monday release. A 5 p.m. update Monday said another update would be given at 9 a.m. Tuesday. Nearby Wyandot and Seneca counties were both downgraded from Level 3 to Level 2 by Monday afternoon. Lucas County has been at a level 2 since 10 a.m. Sunday. A Monday morning report from WTOL 11 said Findlay got approximately 10 inches of snow in the weekend storm. Hancock County Chief Deputy Tom Walker said the decision to continue the Level 3 emergency in the county was made out of an abundance of caution, choosing safety over convenience. "While road crews continue to make progress, the combination of extreme cold temperatures and forecast high winds carries the threat of significant blowing and drifting of powdery snow," Walker said. "This will undoubtedly result in previously cleared roadways becoming re-covered and new hazardous conditions developing, particularly on less-traveled county roads." He also said the goal was to reduce preventable crashes and the risk to emergency personnel responding to emergencies. Karen Clark, meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Cleveland, said the conditions may feel unusual for Ohio, but are not necessarily out of the ordinary. She said the U.S. is in a "La Niña" weather pattern, which can cause abnormal temperatures. "We do get these larger type events periodically in Ohio," she said. "They do happen, but it's usually every three or four years, not every season." In 2021, the Toledo area saw over 14 inches of snow. She said it started with colder temps that extended into the southern parts of the country. Low pressure systems developed in the south, near Texas and Oklahoma and moved northeast in two waves. "There was the first wave that made it up through West Virginia into southeast Ohio before shifting to the East Coast," she said. "Areas that were far enough north got significant snowfall, ranging from 6-12 inches, with a few locations ranging from 15-16 inches." States further south including Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, North and South Carolina, Alabama saw sleet and freezing rain. "It really was a large storm system that impacted much of the eastern United States," Clark said. Looking ahead, she said Ohio residents should not be concerned with more snowfall but should be concerned about extreme cold over the next several days, with windchills expected to dip into the negative double digits. Clark said Ohio hasn't seen such a prolonged period of cold weather since early 2018. "We want people to be aware of the cold, knowing that they might alter their plans this week and avoid prolonged exposure to the elements," Clark said.