Slippery snow proved problematic for Ohio University students, forcing four of the university's five branch campuses to close early yesterday.
Afternoon snow blanketed roads across Southeast Ohio, prompting the Chillicothe and Lancaster campuses to cancel classes at 3 p.m. Eastern Campus canceled classes at 4 p.m. while Zanesville campus canceled them after 5 p.m.
It's pretty hazardous out there
said Rich Greenlee, dean of the Eastern Campus. It's pouring. The roads are all covered - the back roads haven't even been uncovered yet from the last snowfall.
Eastern Campus, in St. Clairsville, was expected to receive 6 to 10 inches of snow yesterday on top of the 18 inches it got over the weekend, Greenlee said.
We got more than most people did out here he said.
John Furlow, dean of the Lancaster campus, said Lancaster had 6 inches of snow over the weekend, which froze before the snow started coming again. Though most of the main roads were kept clear, the back roads - where the majority of Lancaster campus' students live - were not, he said.
Our students live back in the woods off of the country roads
Furlow said, Those roads aren't clear so they really can't make it here.
The Athens campus remained open. The campus requires Athens County Sheriff Pat Kelly to declare a Level 3 snow emergency to cancel classes or close campus.
Kelly said he did not plan to elevate the county to a
Level 3 snow emergency. Athens remained at a Level 2 emergency through the afternoon.
A Level 3 shuts down the county
Kelly said. I have no intentions of calling it Level 3 unless it's like it was last year when we had the ice storm.
OU had a snow day Jan. 28, 2009, when icy conditions prompted a Level 3 snow emergency, as falling branches knocked out power for 14,000 residents across the county.
The Athens County Sheriff's Office reported no power outages as of 5 p.m. yesterday.
The National Weather Service forecast office in Charleston, W. Va., reported Athens County received around 2 to 3 inches of snow yesterday and would receive another 2 to 4 inches today.
Kelley said a lot of factors go into declaring a Level 3 snow emergency. He speaks to the county engineer and the Ohio State Highway Patrol before making such a decision.
A Level 3 shuts down everything in the county
the economy
the schools. Kelly said. I just drove from Nelsonville to Athens
and the roads are clear.
- Libby Cunningham
contributed to this report.
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