Snow turns central Ohio roads sloppy

There was enough snow to turn roads slick and tricky for travelers in central Ohio on Sunday.

There were so many crashes that the Columbus police were advising motorists that they would only respond to those where an injury was involved.

“It was bad,” a 911 dispatcher for Columbus police reported, noting they were inundated with calls.

A Level 1 snow emergency was declared in Franklin, Delaware, Fairfield, and Licking counties, meaning roads were snow covered.

Over in Madison County, there were a number of cars that spun out on the Interstate 70 westbound lanes, slowing traffic to a crawl around 3 p.m.

The Ohio Department of Transportation District 6, which covers most of central Ohio, had more than 100 crews fanned out across the area plowing and salting roads.

“If you’re on the road, take it slow!” the Ohio Department of Transportation warned on its Twitter account.

As of 5 p.m., the National Weather Service had measured 1.4 inches of snow at John Glenn Columbus International Airport. When the snow ends, there will be about 2 inches in Columbus, predicted the National Weather Service in Wilmington.

The Monday morning commute could be messy, but the temperature is expected to be above freezing and the precipitation will be all rain, the National Weather Service says.

So the next weather worry is flooding, as rain will also cause already swollen rivers to rise above flood stage again, leading to continued flooding of lowlying areas.

A flood warning remains in effect for the Scioto River in Marion and Delaware counties as well as for the river in southern Ohio.

At 10 a.m. Sunday, the Scioto was nearly 3 feet above flood stage at Prospect in Marion County.

South of Columbus, the Scioto was above flood stage at Circleville as of 10 a.m. Sunday and is expected to remain above flood stage there for the next five days, the weather service said.

Flooding is expected to affect Island Road in Circleville, as well as the area around the intersection of Rts. 22 and 56, and Rt. 762 near Commercial Point.

The rain on Monday and Tuesday will be accompanied by warmer temperatures, especially on Tuesday, when the high should make it into the 50s. Windy weather, however, will arrive as the rains end, and gusts of up to 50 mph could down trees and cause power outages Tuesday night.