FOX19.com and FOX19 News, weather, traffic, and sports for Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky | Record Snowfall Leaves Tri-State Covered, Traffic Snarled For Hours
Member Center:
The record snowfall from Tuesday afternoon created massive traffic headaches for Tri-State motorists and left a 6.4 inch blanket of snow across the region.
The official measurement set a record for snowfall for the date, February 6th.
The snow began as flurries around noon yesterday and by 8 p.m. students, businesses, commuters and travelers had felt the fury as every major interstate was choked with traffic. Some of the weather related accidents temporarily shut down stretches of interstates while crews, already stretched thin by numerous incident calls, tried to clean up.
FOX19 Meterologist Valerie Abati said, "the snow is gone for now, but the freezing tempratures will continue through the rest of the week."
The tempratures will keep streets from effectively melting and keep road crews busy today.
As of 9:18 a.m. some of the Tri-State interstates were still hazardous as snow remains on the surface. Road crews worked in earnest to make streets passable but the weather isn't helping. Salt and cold weather additives can only do so much but the few commuters are helping.
"Underneath the snow, what we tried to do is get the salt down early, which we did, and that keeps it from bonding to the pavement but you're still going to have slick conditions under the snow...it's going to be a little icy," said Greg Ayers of the Cincinnati Public Works. "As the traffic runs on it, it will actually help the salt work and break it down."
Some parents are upset at the Cincinnati Public School system as students stayed a school a full day and then were bussed home and the height of the crunch on the interstates. The school system reported that bus services told them that the last student was dropped off at 10:30 p.m. Some blame city manager Milton Dohoney who urged businesses to release employees early so that the rush hour drive would not be a jam.
Cincinnati Public Schools spokesperson Janet Walsh speculated that the bussing problem might have been exaserbated as a result of Dohoney's decision.
A majority of schools, businesses and church services have been cancelled for today. For a complete list click here. We are also keeping an eye on the traffic throughout the Tri-State. For updated road conditions, click here.
Report: FOX19 News
