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Columbus and Central Ohio are expected to be hit with a winter storm starting Saturday that could bring around 12 inches of snow through Monday morning.
Franklin County Emergency Management officials say county is prepared for storm, offers tips
Franklin County's emergency management teams are preparing resources to respond to the impending winter storm.
As of Friday afternoon, central Ohio is expected to see anywhere from 8 inches to over a foot of snow, but forecasts are still changing. Franklin County Emergency Management & Homeland Security Director Jeff Young says the agency is prepared for the upcoming storm.
Young told WOSU the county works with cities on snow plowing, the county sheriff on declaring a snow emergency and utility providers on potential power outages.
"This is not the kind of storm where you need to go to the store and buy a month's worth of supplies or bottled water. It's you just need to go earlier for what you would normally need on a weekly basis," Young said.
That being said, Young said it is always a good idea to have some sort of emergency preparedness kit at home. He said this could include non-perishable food and bottled water.
Young said the storm is likely to bring a dry snow with little wind, meaning the main thing to worry about is travel.
"The more we can stay off the roadways, the more effective and efficient the plows are and our snow warriors, it keeps them safer, allows them to do their job much quicker, which gets us all back into our normal operation," Young said.
Columbus preps for winter storm
Columbus city officials say they're preparing to remove the heavy snowfall expected over the weekend, with National Weather Service forecasting up to 14 inches of snow Saturday night through Sunday.
The city will have about 100 snowplow trucks available. Major roadways like Broad Street, Morse Road, High Street, and Polaris Parkway and sections of State Route 161 and State Route 3 will be plowed first, said
Scott Tourville, an administrator with the Columbus Department of Public Service.
"While it's snowing and for a period of 12 to 16 or more hours after it's done snowing, we will be servicing primarily priority one streets,” Tourville said. “We fully anticipate road conditions to be poor through Monday. We fully anticipated the sheriff calling snow emergencies that are appropriate for the conditions throughout the day Monday and even into Tuesday or longer."
Tourville said he hopes neighbors will help each other to shovel sidewalks and driveways.