CLEVELAND — Last night's squall line of windswept downpours is a distant memory, but the storm is just getting started with its impact on Northeast Ohio.
News 5 Meteorologist Allan Nosoff has the latest.
Watch:
Temperatures have tumbled since midnight, when it was 54 degrees in Cleveland. It has fallen into the 30s in just a couple of hours, and it will likely be below freezing by the middle of the morning commute. There is a lot of standing water on the roads due to a combination of rain and rapid snowmelt.
Any untreated surfaces with standing water will freeze as temperatures rapidly drop and frequent gusts chill the water more quickly. To add to the icy concerns, there will be lake-effect snow showers through this afternoon and evening that could drop 3 inches of snow where squalls persist, mainly in the primary snowbelt. Eastern Ashtabula County is likely to become that bullseye.
Gusts of 30 to 40 mph will persist through the rest of the day, further increasing the flash-freeze potential and the frigid feel. While actual air temperatures fall through the 20s, wind chills will fall into the single digits.
The lake effect snow showers taper off around midnight, and lows dip to the upper teens but feel like single digits. It is a short-lived cold blast as another (albeit tamer) warm surge arrives tomorrow with highs back into the 40s.
Road conditions
As weather conditions began to rapidly shift overnight in Northeast Ohio, ODOT is positioning crews and equipment to respond to potentially slick, hazardous roadways.
Watch:
RELATED: ODOT crews monitoring and prepped for potentially hazardous conditions Friday
Amanda McFarland, public information officer with ODOT, says the department is monitoring conditions and reacting in real time.
More than 200 ODOT plows and salt trucks with crews working 12-hour shifts are currently deployed across Northeast Ohio. The department has well over 200,000 tons of salt available for the operation.
Crews have been working overnight to monitor the potential for re-freezing on roadways. Ramps, bridges and overpasses remain the primary concern, as these surfaces freeze first.
View our News 5 Traffic Map to see any road closures or delays due to the weather or crashes from the weather.
Watches and Warnings
CLICK HERE to see the list of severe weather watches, warnings, and other weather alerts from the NWS that are currently active in our area.
Radar
View the current Power of 5 Weather Radar below:
Power outages
There are currently around 1,130 power outages in Cuyahoga County.
News 5 Photographer Dave Kraska spotted a tree down on a car on Abbyshire Drive in Berea.
Downed power lines and outages may happen throughout the day due to high winds.
Visit our Power Outage page to find links to see current power outages in Northeast Ohio and to report a power outage.
School closings and delays
Several schools in Northeast Ohio have a 2-hour delay today. Others have closed. CLICK HERE to check our list of school closings.
Send us photos, videos and reports of the weather
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