ASHLAND — Power outages, closures, snow, ice and more snow — Winter Storm Landon left behind a doozy for Ashland County.
It started with rain Wednesday night that turned to sleet, then snow around 10 p.m.
Driving conditions worsened through the night, prompting Ashland County Sheriff E. Wayne Risner to declare a Level 2 snow emergency on Thursday morning.
The sheriff held off from upping that declaration until around 6 p.m., when he put the county under a Level 3 snow emergency, meaning drivers could subject themselves to arrest if caught driving unnecessarily.
The county remained under a Level 3 snow emergency until 12:40 p.m. Friday, when Risner reverted to a Level 2.
“Ashland County is at Level 2,” read a news release. “Roads are still snow covered and slippery. If you must drive, please drive with caution.”
Dennis Harris, the county’s maintenance superintendent and risk manager, said his crew manned four trucks all day Thursday, clearing lots and sidewalks at the courthouse and other county-owned buildings and salting county roads.
Ashland city utilized its 15 trucks to clear snow and 2,500 tons of stockpiled salt.
Snow levels reached anywhere from five to seven inches on Thursday, with another inch that was expected to fall Friday morning.
NWS public information statements recorded seven inches in Hayesville and 6.9 inches in Ashland, with levels reaching a foot in nearby Richland County.
Additional snow showers are expected to last through 3 p.m. Friday and again between 1 and 2 a.m. Saturday, according to NWS.
Wind chill values are expected to plunge to nearly -5 degrees through Friday night.
Temperatures will climb through the weekend, reaching to 21 Saturday — but wind chills will continue to be a factor with wind speeds reaching up to 7 mph.
Sunday the high is 32 and wind speeds are expected to reach around 11 mph.
The start of the week will bring warmer temperatures, at least relatively speaking, as the forecast shows highs around 30 degrees.
About all area schools closed Friday, with a couple resorting to remote learning models, such as Northwestern Local Schools in West Salem and Ashland University.
There were three power outages reported between Thursday and Friday.
AEP Ohio reported approximately five customers lost power around 8 a.m. Fridday near Savannah. It was expected to return by 11:30 a.m.
First Energy reported two other outages, one in Hayesville that impacted up to 20 customers and the other, in the city of Ashland, affected up to 500. The utility company said power was restored within two hours.
