Ashtabula County buried in heavy snow, another storm impending

ASHTABULA COUNTY, Ohio (WJW) – A level 3 snow emergency is in place in Ashtabula County due to poor road conditions caused by snow that dumped on the county on Friday, and an impending snow storm hitting on Sunday.

The emergency declaration by Sheriff William Niemi restricts travel on roads north of Interstate 90 from the county line to the Pennsylvania state lane.

It also resulted in 14 ODOT plows from other counties coming in to assist in the cities of Ashtabula, Conneaut and Geneva.

Parking bans in effect as snow piles up

ODOT drivers spent the day trying to get fully cleaned up from Friday’s snow, and prepped for the second round to hit.

“Any time we get snow like this, our goal is to make our routes passable not perfect, especially with that snow coming down,” ODOT press secretary Matt Bruning told FOX 8. “Our crews have stayed on it. They’ll continue to stay on it. They’ve been on these 12-hour shifts really since Thanksgiving evening and those will continue probably through the weekend and into early next week.”

They always ask drivers to stay off the roads if they can, and to give ODOT drivers extra room if they do need to be on the roads, which will be the case for people who need to travel home following the holiday weekend.

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Bruning said any drivers heading east need to consider when they leave and how long it could take.

“Certainly, if you’re someone in the Cleveland area who needs to head back towards Erie, Pennsylvania, Buffalo, New York, points to the east, I would certainly try to leave now ahead of that snow coming down again, if at all possible. If not, you’re just going to have to allow a lot of extra time,” he said.

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