MANSFIELD — Exercising caution — or steering clear altogether — of the roads was a smart choice when winter reared its ugly head this weekend in north central Ohio.
“Overall, there were not many crashes,” said Dispatcher Josh Wright with the Mansfield Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol. “People heeded the warnings of the forecasts and reports by the media, and with less people on the roads, there was less work for us to do.”
No major crashes were reported as of about 12:30 p.m. Saturday, he said.
Road crews are continuing to clear the roads, with motorists encountering some snow-covered roads due to drifting. He pointed to Ohio 97 and Ohio 314 as examples of roads that could be prone to drifting snow.
According to the National Weather Service’s climate report, Mansfield experienced close to an inch of precipitation and 2.5 inches of snowfall. Since Dec. 1, 2017, Mansfield has had 18.1 inches of snowfall, according to the report.
Saturday’s forecast, according to the National Weather Service, is partly sunny, with a high near 16 degrees, and wind chill values as low as zero degrees. Tonight is predicted to be mostly cloudy, with a low around four degrees.
Sunday calls for mostly sunny weather, with a high near 17 degrees. It’s expected to be mostly cloudy, with a low around 5 degrees and wind chill values as low as minus-6 degrees on Sunday night. Also that night there’s a 20 percent chance of precipitation, with a slight chance of snow showers forecasted after 3 a.m.
Snow showers are likely, mainly after 11 a.m. on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Monday’s forecast is cloudy, with a high near 25 degrees. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent, with new snow accumulation of possibly 1 to 3 inches.
