Winter storm makes for messy morning commute in NE Ohio: Latest forecast, traffic delays

UPDATE, 9:39 a.m.: Communities in Northeast Ohio saw between 2 and 4 inches of snow from Tuesday morning’s winter storm.

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CLEVELAND, Ohio — A winter storm sweeping through Northeast Ohio early Tuesday is slowing the morning commute and prompting widespread school closures across the region.

Light to moderate snow continued to fall across much of Northeast Ohio early Tuesday, with periodic bursts reducing visibility to under a mile in some areas.

The Ohio Department of Transportation map showed a crash on Interstate 71 southbound blocking the two right lanes just south of the interchange with Interstate 90. Slowdowns also were reported across the region, including on I-71 in Berea, I-90 heading into downtown Cleveland, I-480 near I-71 and in Maple Heights and I-77 in Brecksville, near the Ohio Turnpike.

In Lake County, the speed limit on I-90 east of Ohio 44 had been lowered to 50 mph.

“You can’t get to work in the normal amount of time that it would take. It’s going to take you longer,” Ohio Department of Transportation spokesman Brent Kovacs told cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer news partner WKYC Channel 3. “It’s going to be slower.”

About 250 ODOT plow trucks are working on keeping roads clear during this storm, Kovacs said.

A parking ban was in effect Tuesday in Cleveland. Stopping, standing and parking of vehicles is prohibited on city streets with posted red and white signs.

At Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, the majority of departures were operating on time. Ten flights were delayed Tuesday morning, including routes to Detroit, Miami, New York, Chicago and Las Vegas.

Snow expected to diminish later Tuesday morning

An upper-level system moving across Ohio, along with stronger winds higher in the atmosphere, was supporting steadier snow through midmorning, according to the National Weather Service in Cleveland.

Most of the region was expected to pick up 2 to 4 inches of snow through sunrise, with slightly higher totals possible from Central Ohio toward Youngstown, where snowfall rates may briefly approach an inch per hour.

Snow is expected to diminish quickly later Tuesday morning as a dry slot moves in from the southwest, though forecasters noted that lake-effect snow showers could redevelop during the afternoon as colder northerly winds flow across Lake Erie.

Models show convergent bands forming over the lake and occasionally pushing onshore, including into the Cleveland metro area. Any additional accumulation should be limited, though.

Conditions are expected to stabilize Tuesday night as high pressure builds in from the southwest, before shifting southeast on Wednesday.