photo: facebook.com/cinpubservices
Crew members from Cincinnati's Department of Public Services prepare to plow the streets on Feb. 4, 2022.
Winter Storm Landon has been causing trouble for people throughout the Midwest, including for Greater Cincinnati residents.
According to the National Weather Service in Wilmington, Landon dropped 1.26 inches of freezing rain and 2.4 inches of snow on the region Thursday. That's in addition to Wednesday's inch of rain, which laid the foundation for this week's ongoing icy conditions.
Many in the Cincinnati region lost power on Thursday due to the storm. About 10,000 Duke Energy customers in the corporation's Southwestern Ohio-Northern Kentucky region reported outages by mid-evening Thursday.
As of 9:30 a.m. Friday, Duke's website shows that about 5,000 of those outages remain. While a few of those include Cincinnati customers, the majority who still have no power are in Clermont and Brown counties. Duke attributes most outages to fallen trees or branches.
In a Feb. 3 statement, Duke said that before the storm, the company had distributed 950 power line technicians, damage assessors and vegetation workers throughout the region to be able to restore power quickly. The expanded crews included staff from North Carolina and South Carolina, effectively doubling the boots on the ground.
To report power outages to Duke Energy, text OUT to 57801 or call 800-543-5599. Learn about what else to do before and during power outages.
The fallout from Winter Storm Landon continues throughout the Cincinnati area, though the National Weather Service has downgraded the storm from a winter storm warning to a winter weather advisory for Friday. The forecast calls for only up to an inch of snow and minimal rain Friday morning, and things will begin to dry out on Saturday.
Dayton, on the other hand, has set a new record for snowfall. The NWS says that the city received six inches of snow on Thursday, surpassing the previous daily record for Feb. 3 of 3.4 inches set in 2000.OHGO cameras continue to show many snow covered roads - especially on side streets. With additional snow accumulations possible through the early afternoon, travel conditions will continue to be less than favorable. Avoid roadways if possible to let road crews clean up! pic.twitter.com/cnzn12Ue7z
— NWS Wilmington OH (@NWSILN) February 4, 2022
Road crews from Cincinnati's Department of Public Services and other jurisdictions continue to plow and treat streets Friday. In a Facebook post, DPS says that the effort has been "difficult" due to the accumulation.
"Compacted sleet, ice and continued snow accumulations have made efforts difficult but we’ll continue working 12 hour shifts until the job is done!" the department writes on Feb. 4. "Please stay home if possible. If you must travel, give crews plenty of room and slow down!"
During a media briefing Wednesday at the Valley View Salt Dome, Cincinnati Mayor Aftab Pureval, Assistant City Manager Sheryl Long and Traffic and Road Superintendent Jarrod Bolden also had implored city residents to heed snow and ice warnings and stay home.
Bolden repeatedly said that Cincinnati residents should stay off the roads during the storm so that the Department of Public Services can clear or treat the streets.
"If you don't have to travel when the conditions are the worst, stay at home," Bolden said.
Cincinnati residents can monitor main and neighborhood roads in real-time through the city's snow plow tracker. The tracker shows the time of the most recent treatment, and the data is searchable by time range, street name and neighborhood.
Residents can also call the Department of Public Services at 513-591-6000 to get street information or provide information about weather-related incidents on the roads.
Stay connected with CityBeat. Subscribe to our newsletters, and follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Google News, Apple News and Reddit.
Send CityBeat a news or story tip or submit a calendar event.
