Ice and Snow Storms in the Midwest

This month has had a high of 63 and a low of 0; we've had close to 6 inches of snow and rain (www.weather.com). Midwest weather has always tended to quickly vacillate between hot and cold weather, particularly in the transition periods between seasons. This year is no exception.

Almost every school in Franklin county was closed last Tuesday and Wednesday due to the ice and snow that coated the ground last week. This week school was cancelled on Friday only, but the weather was worse than it had been last week.

When I went outside today the snow was the hard, crunchy type, as it had been coated with a coat of freezing rain. As I drove large, intact sheets of frozen snow would fly off of my car and shatter on the road behind. It took about 20 minutes to scrape the ice and snow from my car windows.

Unfortunately the upcoming weather forecast doesn't hold any good news for Midwesterners: in my area the temperatures aren't expected to get above 42 degrees for the next 10 days, with the average temperature being 35 degrees. Snow and rain showers are likely three of the next ten days as well.

The worst part about getting rain in this weather is that it freezes over as the temperature drops each night, causing morning commutes to be icy and filled with accidents. By early afternoon all but the secondary and tertiary are usually completely cleared and pose no driving difficulties.

Most of the severe ice and snow storms seem to be over for the time be, but 19 of Ohio's 88 counties are still under a winter weather advisory until after 4 am today. A winter weather advisory means that driving conditions will be compromised by icy, slippery roads and/or limited visibility.

Another effect of all the freezing and unfreezing of snow and ice is flooding. Flooding season is right around the corner in the Midwest, so hopefully the snow will clear up soon. Some cities in Ohio have already had to evacuate residents from trailers and put out sandbag barricades around businesses and homes this month (http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2008-02-06-ohio-flooding_N.htm). More flooding will inevitably take place as snow continues to melt and rain and snow continue to fall.

The snow and freezing rain is supposed to be moving from the Ohio region towards New England this weekend (http://www.wunderground.com/US/Region/Midwest/SnowDepth.html). The Midwest region will still have occasional snow and rain, but the more severe ice and snow storms should be over for at least the next week once this storm cover has finished moving out of the area.

Flights out of port Columbus Airport haven't been affected much by the winter weather. (http://www.port-columbus.com/flight/flight/info.asp) The only cancelled flights have been with Delta; the other airlines have been taking off and arriving on time as much as usual.

Car accidents have been high in my area lately; mainly just fender benders and people running into ditches due to the ice and slippery roadways. Some days during rush hour commutes police have had to take injury-accident reports only due to the high volume of minor traffic accidents. This isn't uncommon in Central Ohio; many times during even light rain the cops have to respond to injury-accidents only due to the high number of minor fender benders.

With less than a month until the first day of spring (March 20th), the Midwest still faces many opportunities for severe winter weather.