Ohio
How to stop griping and start embracing winter in Northeast Ohio: Our Best Life
A rare powder day at Boston Mills. Laura Johnston, cleveland.com
CLEVELAND, Ohio — Some Clevelanders hate winter. Once Christmas is over and the new year dawns, they grit their teeth and gripe about the cold and snow until March – or beyond.
But why not embrace what feels like a real January, where snow has transformed the tired brown landscape to a whimsical world of white?
Winter can feel magical, if you take it seriously — unlike my middle schoolers, whom I have to nag to wear a coat to school.
You can’t love winter if your only interaction takes place in frigorific parking lots, dashing between your car and your destination, without boots, gloves or tuque (a Canadian word for winter hat I wish we would all adopt).
Yes, it’s cold. Yes, I prefer 75 degrees and sunshine.
But we are Clevelanders. Like the classic graphic tee, which I own in pink: “You gotta be tough.”
And you gotta deal with a 10-day streak of temperatures that didn’t break 32 degrees, whether you like it or not. The good news is our daily allotment of snow stayed on the ground.
Unlike cold rain, you can play in the snow. You can ski or snowboard, snowshoe or cross-country ski. You can sled or make snow angels, and if its warm enough make snowpeople or have a snowball fight. Snow days are the most beloved of all school holidays because of their inherent surprise.
If you get a bluebird day with snow, even better. The sunshine bouncing off the ground can lift your spirit in bounds.
And even if you don’t, extra daylight increases serotonin levels in your brain, helping you regulate mood, sleep and appetite.
Go ice skating at an outdoor rink, like in downtown Akron or Cleveland, or in a flooded pocket park in Shaker Heights.
Hike through the woods in the Metroparks, or a just take walk around the block in the dark. (And while you’re out there, why not be a good neighbor and shovel the sidewalk. if you’re able?)
The snow softens everything; the quiet it creates feels like meditation.
When you return home, stomp your boots, shake off the flakes and get cozy under a blanket on your couch. If you have a fireplace, take advantage. Make hot chocolate or tea and curl up with a good book. This is gezellig, a Dutch word that captures a cozy feeling of warmth, light and comfort, shared with loved ones.
I made my 11-year-old daughter sled with me a few weekends ago. Because it’s weird if a grown-up sledded by themselves. But I will ski solo any time, doing laps of moguls on North Bowl at Boston Mills.
Want to enjoy winter in Cleveland? Get out and play in it.Laura Johnston, cleveland.com
I’ve been skiing with my family at the Boston Township enclave (“resort” is way too fancy a word for the cluster of runs) since I joined ski club in third grade. I took my kids when they were still bundled in sleepers in their car seat carrier, plunking them on a table for my dad to watch while my mom and I skied. When they were 2, my mom started teaching them.
It’s an investment to teach your kids to ski. You spend years on the bunny hill, calming tantrums and yelling “Turn! Turn!” and occasionally bribing with hot pretzels, while wishing you were swishing down black diamonds. But like so much of the hard work of parenting, the effort is so, so worth it.
Sharing my hobby with my kids means I get to keep doing it. Because now on winter weekends, we meet up with my mom and my sister’s family for fresh air and daylight and exercise. It’s a sport I hope will improve their winters for the rest of their lives.
This year, we skiers have lucked out with snow, both natural and manmade. While last year, it was Jan. 17 before Boston Mills opened any of its advanced terrain, this year North Bowl was open before Christmas. And we’ve had real powder to play on.
With climate change, we’re seeing warmer winters and less snow. A 2023 study by the National Ski Areas Association predicts that if climate change is left unchecked, ski resorts in several states, including Ohio, could lose between 61% to 81% of their operational days by mid-century. A group called Save Our Snow (helpfully nicknamed SOS) compiles information on what the ski industry is doing to combat climate change.
Across the globe, 2024 was the hottest year ever, beating the record set the year before and breaching the international goal set in 2021 that aimed to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) since pre-industrial times.
That may be good news to Clevelanders who don’t want to don a parka to walk their dog. But how cute are dogs in the snow, whether they’re romping like my golden retriever or wearing a coat and booties?
With our 64 inches annually, we don’t even rank in the top 10 cities for average seasonal snow totals. We’re bested by:
Syracuse, New York, 128 inches a year
Erie, Pennsylvania, 104 inches
Rochester, New York, 102 inches
Buffalo, New York, 96 inches
Boulder, Colorado, 93 inches
Duluth, Minnesota, 90 inches
Flagstaff, Arizona, 90 inches
Anchorage, Alaska, 78 inches
Grand Rapids, Michigan, 78 inches
Worcester, Massachusetts, 73 inches
Now that Lake Erie has begun to freeze, we’ll have less lake effect snow.
But the next time we get a pile of it, pull on your snowpants, go out and play. Because loathing winter won’t make it pass any quicker.
Ice is starting to form along the Lake Erie shoreline on Wednesday, January 8, 2025, after weeks of below freezing temperatures. The wind blowing across the lake has also led to some spectacular frozen ice features.David Petkiewicz, cleveland.com
Cleveland.com content director Laura Johnston writes weekly about life in her 40s in the column, Our Best Life. Subscribe to the newsletter to get the column delivered to your inbox Friday mornings. Find her on Instagram @ourbestlifecle.
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (WKBN) — Part of Glenwood Avenue is closed due to a water main break in Youngstown.
Saturday afternoon, water could be seen flowing down Glenwood Avenue near Ravenwood Avenue.
The road is closed between Ravenwood Avenue and Clearmount Drive while crews repair the break.
Dominic O’Brien contributed to this report.
The U.S. Bicentennial in 1976 was a monumental, year-long celebration marking the 200th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Coming in the aftermath of the turbulent 1960s, the political disillusionment of the Watergate scandal and President Richard Nixon’s resignation in 1974, and the capture of Saigon by the North Vietnamese and the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, the Bicentennial served as a crucial moment of national healing.
The festivities culminated on the Fourth of July 1976, with spectacular events staged across the country. The most enduring legacy of the celebration in Columbus is Bicentennial Park, located in the Downtown riverfront area along the Scioto River.
Dedicated on July 4, 1976, this 4.7-acre green space was built to permanently commemorate the nation’s 200th birthday. The park’s initial centerpiece was a massive fountain system featuring four circular pools that could shoot water 60 feet into the air.
From May 22 to June 2, 1975, Columbus served as the 11th official stop for the American Freedom Train. This massive, steam-powered rolling museum carried more than 500 priceless historical artifacts – including copies of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution – across all 48 contiguous states.
The train was displayed at the Defense Construction Supply Center [DCSC] in Whitehall and drew massive crowds of local families. Columbus held a special distinction during the tour: it was one of only three cities nationwide where the “Splendid Spirit” car was included with the train.
Warren Motts, the founding director of Motts Military Museum in Groveport, traveled with the train for its entire 25,000-mile journey, capturing the official photos that documented this historic event.
Beyond these massive metropolitan events, the true spirit of the Bicentennial thrived at the grassroots level. The American Revolution Bicentennial Administration (ARBA) encouraged local communities to form their own committees, leading to thousands of unique municipal projects.
Towns across the nation hosted local parades, commissioned historical murals, dedicated new parks, and sealed time capsules intended for the tricentennial in 2076.
It also triggered a resurgence of interest in local history and genealogy, as everyday citizens sought to trace their own roots back to the nation’s founding eras.
The civic energy and patriotism generated by the 1976 celebrations also helped pave the way for other major local traditions. Just a few years later, in 1981, Columbus launched its annual Red, White & Boom! celebration, which grew into the largest Independence Day fireworks display in the Midwest—a tradition deeply rooted in the community pride revived during the Bicentennial era.
Get involved in America 250 at your library this year! Visit columbulibrary.org for a full list of America 250 events.
Angela O’Neal is Local History & Genealogy Manager with the Columbus Metropolitan Library.
NORTHEAST OHIO (WOIO) – Thousands are without power Friday after severe weather sweeps across Northeast Ohio counties, creating weather-related damage.
FirstEnergy reports more than 71,000 in Northeast Ohio are without power Friday night.
More than 22,000 are without power in Cuyahoga County.
The utility company reports that more than 700 are without power in Erie County.
Lake County reports over 1,000 outages, and Portage has over 4,000 outages.
Trumbull County is experiencing over 1,000, and Ashtabula reports over 3,000.
Lorain County is experiencing more than 3,000 reported outages, and Geauga County has more than 7,000.
Medina County reported more than 1,000.
Chardon fire crews field wave of storm calls
The Chardon Fire Department shared the calls it responded to concerning storm damage Friday evening.
Fire crews said they responded to a tree in a house at 127 Burlington Oval.
The department said a tree fell on a gas line, causing a gas leak at 408 Charleston Avenue.
Wires were reported down on South Claridon Road, closing State Route 44 near South Street.
Wires were reported down on a house near Irma and South Hambden.
Fire crews said a tree was reported down on a home at 306 North Hambden.
The department also said alarms went off at UH Geauga Hospital.
Downed wires also closed Auburn and Twing roads.
The department said power was out on the south side of Chardon City.
Another tree was reported to have fallen into a house at 109 Burlington Oval, but no injuries were reported.
Fire crews said an incident involving a tree in a house and electric lines was reported at 11396 Aquilla Road, but no injuries were reported.
Fallen tree takes out power line in Independence
The city of Independence said a downed tree took out a live power line on lower Stone Road.
The city asked the public to avoid the area because of the danger posed by live wires.
The city said FirstEnergy had been notified and both police and firefighters were on scene.
Downed wires prompt closures across Hambden
The Hambden Fire Department said Friday night it was dealing with multiple storm-related incidents.
Crews said Claridon Troy Road was closed between Route 608 and Chardon Windsor Road because of downed poles and wires.
Kenny Drive was closed south of Leaders Mobile Home Park because of downed wires across the road, according to fire crews.
Multiple wires were reported down on Route 6 near Cutts and Grant Street along the north side of the road.
The department said the public should use caution in areas with downed wires and poles and should not attempt to move any of the wires.
Anyone with an electrical emergency or who encounters downed wires is asked to call 9-1-1.
Hambden Fire said people should not call 9-1-1 to report an outage.
The department said FirstEnergy is aware of these issues and is working to fix them.
Check FirstEnergy’s, AEP’s, and Cleveland Public Power’s websites for the latest outage numbers.
These outages come after severe thunderstorm warnings were issued for multiple Northeast Ohio counties this evening and were extended until 10:45 p.m.
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