Tri-State counties issue travel advisories as winter weather headaches continue for drivers

Snow left over from Tuesday’s near-record climate system, mixed new snowfall and probabilities for ice Wednesday, prompted many Better Cincinnati communities to declare winter climate emergencies. Their message: keep away from touring for those who can.

A number of Tri-State counties and different communities have declared journey advisories and snow emergencies, together with:

Stage 1 (Ohio and KY):

• Hamilton
• Gallatin
• Grant
• Mason
• Ft. Mitchell, Ky.

Stage 2 (Ohio and KY):

• Adams
• Boone
• Brown
• Campbell
• Highland
• Kenton
• Owen
• Pendleton
• Robertson

Orange (Indiana):

Yellow (Indiana):

Although it varies by county and metropolis, typically in Ohio and Kentucky, a Stage 1 emergency means highway circumstances are hazardous attributable to blowing and drifting snow. Roads could also be icy, too, so motorists are urged to drive very cautiously. A Stage 2 emergency means there’s extra ice on the highway, and it’s best to solely be touring if it is necessary. At Stage 3, roads near non-emergency personnel.

Indiana makes use of a yellow/orange/purple shade system to indicate the extent of journey advisory. Yellow, the bottom stage, means drivers ought to use warning attributable to hazardous circumstances. At orange, folks ought to solely drive in case of emergency. At purple, the very best journey alert stage, roads near everybody however emergency administration employees.

Relying on the place you reside, snowfall quantities might complete between 1 to 2 inches of snow in a single day into Thursday morning. Ice quantities might attain one-tenth to two-tenths of an inch to the south, which might develop icy spots on roads.

Comply with together with our climate updates and its affect on visitors here.

Interstates and highways have been shortly coated in snow Wednesday earlier than rush hour. By 8 p.m., circumstances hadn’t improved on south I-71 heading Downtown.

Proven on this time-lapse video from Matt Bruning with Ohio’s Division of Transportation, it did not take lengthy for Cincinnati’s busiest interstates to be coated in snow.

Freeway circumstances in Boone County, Kentucky, weren’t wanting significantly better.

Drivers touring on the Daniel Carter Beard Bridge additionally noticed slowdowns throughout rush hour Wednesday.

Whitney Miller

And later, on I-471, a jackknifed semi blocked a southbound ramp to I-275. This scene cleared by 7:15.

As of 4 p.m., the AAA Roadside Rescue Staff responded to greater than 500 requests for emergency roadside help, for a complete of greater than 2,700 roadside service requests for tow, battery, tire and extraction points since Sunday.

Simply hours after snow started to fall Wednesday afternoon, Cincinnati Police had reported a number of crashes and closed some steep roads attributable to insurmountable ice and snow. Police ask drivers who have been concerned in a non-injury crash Wednesday to not name 911. As an alternative, they ask that every one events swap data and report the crash when you’ll be able to at a Cincinnati Police District location.

Visitors on Columbia Parkway slowed to a crawl simply after 5 p.m. attributable to snow, and drivers continued to wrestle hours later.

Matthew Wooden

To the north, in Madeira, commuters navigated greater than an inch of snow on the roadway.

Josh Bazan

And this nonetheless from drone video by David Donaldson reveals Colerain Township blanketed in snow.

Courtesy: David Donaldson

WCPO will replace this story.