Stark County avoids the expected 4 to 8 inches of snow, but will see a few more inches before daybreak.
The Stark County area avoided the large dump of snow that was expected Friday, but the freezing rain and plummeting temperatures led to slippery roads.
A fatal crash near I-77 around 5:30 p.m. was not weather-related as initially believed, the Ohio Highway Patrol said last Friday night.
Dennis Bray, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Cleveland, said as of 7 p.m. Friday, the Akron Canton Airport had reported a half inch of snow and roughly a tenth of an inch of ice. Initial weather reports had forecasted snow ranging between 4 to 8 inches.
Bray expected the Stark County area to pick up a couple more inches of snow before Saturday morning, but believes that Saturday will remain largely snow free.
The National Weather Service's weather alerts also will expire by mid morning Saturday. The flood watch advisory is set to expire at 7 a.m. and the winter storm warning will expire at 10 a.m. Saturday.
Saturday's forecast calls for temperatures to remain in the teens, with a high of 18 during the day. The forecast includes an overnight low of just 2 degrees above zero Saturday night.
Several school activities scheduled for Saturday have been postponed. Among the girls basketball games rescheduled: Perry at McKinley, no makeup date announced; Medina at Jackson, no makeup date announced; Carrollton at Louisville, rescheduled for 7:30 p.m. Jan. 22; Salem at Canton South, no makeup date announced; East Canton at Sandy Valley, rescheduled for 6 p.m. Jan. 17; and Lake Center Christian at Akron Elms, rescheduled for 6 p.m. Feb. 6.
Drastic drop
Friday began with temperatures that reached nearly 60 degrees. But by 11 a.m., the temps had drop by more than 20 degrees and hovered in the 20s throughout Friday evening.
The drastic temperature change caused the morning rain to turn into sleet and freezing rain by early afternoon. Local road and police departments reported slow traveling conditions and sliding vehicles on area highways and roads throughout Friday afternoon and evening.