County avoids large snowfalls of others

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

Van Wert County was again luckily on the edge of a storm system that dumped lots of snow to the south, but left the county relatively unscathed.

County Emergency Management Director Rick McCoy said a slight shift in the winter storm meant the county received just three inches of snow while southern neighbor Mercer County had 10 inches of the white stuff dumped on it and Lima is digging out from under 9½ inches of snow.

“What a difference a 25-mile shift can make!” McCoy said. “The National Weather Service was right on with snowfall amounts … but a slight shift in the storm spared Van Wert County the big amounts predicted.”

McCoy said he didn’t think too many county residents were complaining, though, since even the 3 inches received locally, along with winds estimated as high as 35 mph, was enough to make travel dangerous, with icy conditions and blowing snow.

The EMA director said the storm shift — something that happens frequently — was the difference between receiving the 6-8 inches originally forecast and the 3 inches actually received.

“I’m sure a lot of folks were asking where the snow went that Van Wert County was supposed to get,” McCoy said. “Well, it was out there … it just slid one county further southeast than expected and this saved us from a lot of headaches — and probably less accidents and injuries than expected.”

While there were the obligatory fender-bender accidents and rollovers that come with any snowstorm — especially the first substantial snow of the winter — the county escaped any serious injuries from accidents that occurred locally.

The EMA director said he hoped that the county’s luck continues when storms start to become more common as winter sets in.

The rest of the week should be dry, with high temperatures in the 20s and 30s and lows in the teens and low 20s. According to the National Weather Service, no snow is being forecast at this point over the next 10 days, with the chance of snow, at most, 20 percent during the period.