After a mild week that included Christmas Day, winter was poised to return overnight into Wednesday, and forecasters expected a much deeper dose of cold following a storm early next week.
While snowfall in metro Toledo on New Year’s Eve into New Year’s Day wasn’t expected to be much — probably less than an inch — the Ohio Department of Transportation said the precipitation would be enough to get salt trucks out on the roads, particularly to treat bridges.
Derek Witt, a meteorologist with WTVG-TV Channel 13, said that while accumulating snow was likely overnight in parts of southeast Michigan, ground temperatures still around 40 degrees meant that the lighter snowfall in Toledo might not last long enough for even a hint of a white New Year’s in the city.
The main hazard for travelers, he said, will be slick bridges, because subfreezing air affects them faster than surface pavement.
“They’ll be the first to go, because the ground is still warm but the cold air can get underneath those bridges,” Mr. Witt advised.