More winter ahead for Van Wert County

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

What has already been the costliest winter in recent memory, in terms of money spent on salt and manpower, got worse over the weekend when a surprising large snowstorm hit Van Wert County, according to County Emergency Management Director Rick McCoy.

McCoy said a storm that was supposed to bring 1-3 inches to the area instead dumped 6-7 inches of the white stuff on the county, according to his figures. Even worse, a storm predicted for Tuesday and Wednesday could bring another 6-10 inches of snow to the county, if National Weather Service predictions hold firm.

The storm, which will likely also bring 1-2 inches of rain to southern Ohio and possibly some ice to central Ohio, will be accompanied by lowered temperatures as well.

McCoy said the high today would likely be 26, with a low of 6 this evening, while Tuesday’s high should reach 23, with winds picking up and snow starting to fall by sometime in the afternoon.

Temperatures on Wednesday night should reach 3 above zero, while a daytime high of 10 is predicted for Thursday, and a low of 3 below zero that evening.

McCoy noted that more snow could hit the area on Friday and Saturday.

The winter has already been one of the costliest for the area in recent memory. Prior to the weekend snowstorm, the Ohio Department of Transportation’s District 1 said it had spent a total of $5.9 million on labor, equipment and materials this winter. Prior to this year, the worst winter in recent memory was 2010-2011, when the eight-county ODOT district spent $5.58 million for snow and ice control.

The least expensive year was 2005-2006, when just $2.5 million was spent.

Unlike the City of Van Wert, which is down to its last 50 tons of salt after using 370 tons already this winter, ODOT’s District 1 still has plenty of salt on hand, with 15,800 tons available for the district. That’s about a third of the 44.8 million tons that have already been used this winter by the ODOT district, with 6,231 tons used in Van Wert County alone – the third highest among the district’s eight counties.

ODOT District 1 maintains 3,277 lane miles of roadway in its eight counties, which include Van Wert, Allen, Defiance, Hancock, Hardin, Paulding, Putnam and Wyandot.