CLEVELAND, Ohio — It might be a white New Year’s Day for parts of Northeast Ohio.

The National Weather Service on Monday issued a winter storm watch from Wednesday through Sunday, with accumulations of at least six inches predicted in some areas.

The heaviest snowfall could hit Ashtabula, Cuyahoga, and Geauga and Lake counties, the weather service said.

Widespread light to moderate snow is expected on Wednesday, with the greatest amounts falling over the snow belt. Lake effect snow may hit in squalls Wednesday night, with lake effect snow continuing off and on through Saturday night, the weather service said.

Travel could be hazardous, and drivers are urged to check the latest forecasts for updates.

The snow watch ends 7 a.m. Sunday.

In early December, the area experienced a snowstorm that left 56.7 inches in one spot of Ashtabula County, while other parts of Northeast Ohio saw small dustings of snow.

Julie Washington covers healthcare for cleveland.com. Read previous stories at this link.

Power has been restored for the tens of thousands of Ohioans who were without electricity after storms with severe wind blew through the area.

As of 6:30 a.m. Monday, about 5,700 AEP Ohio customers were without power, according to an outage map maintained by the company. About 23,000 were without power at about 10 p.m. Sunday, the company posted on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter.

The company said crews would work thorough the night to restore power.

The outages were spread throughout Ohio. Nearly 1,000 customers in Licking County were affected as of 6:30 a.m. Monday, followed by 654 in Washington County and 473 in Stark County. Franklin County had 308 without power.

The National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio recorded wind gusts of up to 49 mph in the area Sunday night, with winds peaking at about 10 p.m. A wind advisory was in place for Central Ohio until 11 p.m. for central Ohio.

bagallion@dispatch.com

HICKSVILLE, Ohio — A 2.9 magnitude earthquake was felt Sunday morning in Northwest Ohio near the border with Indiana, the first ever recorded in that part of the state, according to reports.

Information from the U.S. Geological Survey shows the earthquake occurred at 6:46 a.m. at a depth of nearly 6 miles near the village Hicksville, which is in Defiance County. The quake also was felt in parts of Indiana and Michigan, according to the USGS.

WTOL Channel 11 reports there are no known faults in the area where the earthquake occurred. The Ohio Department of Natural Resources tells WTOL that this is the first earthquake recorded in Defiance County.

A 2.9 magnitude earthquake usually can be felt by residents and sometimes can cause minor damage, according to Michigan Tech University.

Information from ODNR shows the most recent earthquake recorded in Northeast Ohio was on Dec. 16, but it was only a 1.4 magnitude, which cannot be felt. In June, a 2.6 magnitude earthquake was recorded in Madison in Lake County.