6-8 inches of snow expected to blanket Toledo area
12/31/2013The National Weather Service has issued Winter Weather Advisories for an advancing storm that it predicts could bring 6-8 inches of snow -- or even more, depending on how it falls -- to the Toledo area.
The agency's Cleveland office issued an advisory for an area spanning from Lorain to Lucas counties and south to Findlay and Tiffin that warned of 1-2 inches overnight, another 1-3 inches early Wednesday, and then 4-6 inches Wednesday night into Thursday.
The advisory for this area warns of snowy conditions from midnight Tuesday until 4 p.m. Thursday. Northeast winds are expected with the storm, which could cause lake-enhancement of snowfall near Lake Erie.
The Detroit office predicted 4 to 6 inches of snow in southeast Michigan, while the North Webster, Ind., office said two periods of snow were likely in extreme northwest Ohio -- the first bringing 2 to 5 inches overnight and Wednesday morning, and the second dropping 3 to 5 inches Wednesday night into Thursday.
The alert for Fulton, Williams, and other Ohio counties south of those is effective 7 p.m. today through 1 a.m. Thursday, while the southeast Michigan alert is in effect from 7 a.m. Wednesday through 4 a.m. Thursday.
Temperatures are expected to remain well below freezing and become even colder after the storm's cold front passes. Low temperatures in the single digits are forecast for Toledo on Thursday and Friday nights, with a high only in the low teens on Friday.
Area authorities expect to have plow crews on the roads by early morning, but cautioned motorists to be alert to changing driving conditions.