Tomorrow: Sunny & very cold again. High 28. Winds: S 4-8 mph.
Wednesday: Turning partly cloudy & closer to average. High 40. Winds: SW 5-15 mph.
Weather discussion: We’ll see another frigid start this morning with wind chills in the single digits. It won’t warm up a whole lot today as we hit the mid-20s with mostly to partly cloudy skies through the day & a few flurries at times. We’ll drop to near 10 tonight but it’ll feel colder than that with light winds. Sunshine returns with highs in the upper 20s on Tuesday. It’ll be partly cloudy & closer to average on Wednesday. A mix is possible on Thursday but it’ll remain seasonable. Mostly cloudy on Friday but seasonable. Seasonable again on Saturday with a few snow showers. Partly cloudy on Sunday with highs in the mid-30s. Light snow returns Monday with highs in the low to mid-30s.
Tonight will be one of the coldest nights of the season. Another frigid start to the week, but warmer weather will return midweek.
Jan 10, 2022
TOLEDO, Ohio —
Weather Outlook:
- Today low 20s, and single digit lows tonight - Sunny Tuesday with calmer winds - Midweek warmup near 40° - Quiet pattern without major storms
A bitterly cold start to a new week with highs only barely in the low 20s. Single digit lows tonight be one of the coldest of the season so far.
A few snow flurries may flutter, but travel impacts are not expected for the morning commute.
Tuesday will bring sunny weather with calmer wind. Though temperatures will only reach the mid-20s, it’ll be a pleasant feeling day if you bundle up.
Tuesday night won’t be as brisk.
A midweek warmup will lift temperatures near 40° by Wednesday and Thursday, both of which look dry and mostly cloudy.
There has certainly been enough cold here in January but snowfall continues to fall behind pace. There are signs that may start to change a little by the weekend and perhaps more next week. The weather pattern the second half of January appears to be more active for our area.
A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga and Ashtabula counties.
Jan 10, 2022
CLEVELAND — Alright Northeast Ohio...here we go! Another arctic blast is targeting the region after 40s on Sunday morning quickly turned to mid to low 20s around dinnertime Sunday evening. Combined with gusty winds (topping 30 mph at times), we'll feel more like the single digits by Monday evening with persistent snow hampering visibility.
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY
The National Weather Service has activated a Winter Weather Advisory through 4 a.m. Tuesday in Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga and inland Ashtabula.
Lake effect snow will continue into Monday night before gradually ending Tuesday. It is likely that the snowbelt and immediate areas surrounding could experience 3-5 inches with isolated amounts 4-6 inches due to bands continually dropping snow over the same areas.
Otherwise we'll be cold with highs in the low to mid 20s at best Monday and Tuesday.
YOUR 3-DAY FORECAST:
TODAY: Lake effect snow. Cold. Low 20s.
TUESDAY: Lake snow ends early. Some sunshine and cold. Mid 20s.
WEDNESDAY: Mostly cloudy with a few sun peeks. Upper 30s.
CLEVELAND — A Winter Weather Advisory has been activated in a few counties as we track some lake effect snow here in Northeast Ohio.
So how much snow can you expect and where?
“Latest model guidance brings several inches of snow – perhaps 3-6 in areas of the snow belt,” says 3News meteorologist Matt Wintz.
The Winter Weather Advisory is in effect from 7 a.m. Monday until 4 a.m. Tuesday in the following counties: Ashtabula (inland), Cuyahoga, Lake, Geauga
“This evening into tonight, the wind will turn more north / northwest, so that would bring the snow bands a little bit further inland,” Wintz explains.
The National Weather Service warns drivers to plan on slippery road conditions.
Cincinnati -- Temperatures have taken a step back again, leaving us on the cold side today.
The sky is mostly cloudy this morning. Clouds will slowly decrease, turning partly cloudy this afternoon, as the temperatures rise to 30. It's a precipitation free day, but it is below normal as highs are generally closer to 39 this time of year.
Temperatures drop more tonight, cooling to 12 degrees.
More sunshine will grace the sky on Tuesday but that sun doesn't mean warmth. Temperatures will climb to 32 in the afternoon hours. Winds are expected from the south around 10 mph and this will keep wind chills in the low 20s at best.
No major weather systems pass through the Ohio Valley this week so it's just the temperature changes to talk about. Wednesday we warm to 45 and we'll stay in the mid 40s for Thursday.
In the long term, we are watching a chance for light snow on Saturday.
Heating sources are the second leading cause of home fire injuries, and the third leading cause of home fire deaths.
10TV - Columbus January 10, 2022
COLUMBUS, Ohio — Battalion Chief Steve Martin with the Columbus Division of Fire is providing safety tips after deadly fires were reported in two major cities over the past week.
Twelve people were killed in a Philadelphia house fire on Wednesday, marking the city’s deadliest blaze in more than a century. Though the cause of the fire is still under investigation, crews have said they believe a 5-year-old was playing with a lighter when the family’s Christmas tree was engulfed in flames.
In New York, authorities say a malfunctioning space heater sparked a fire on Sunday in a Bronx apartment building, killing 19 people, 9 of them children, in the process.
When it comes to fire safety, Battalion Chief Martin says the number one rule is to make sure your house is equipped with working smoke detectors. Martin suggests testing those detectors every 30 days to ensure they can be heard in case of an emergency.
“Smoke alarms being able to wake somebody up will have the biggest impact on saving lives in a fire situation or residence,” said Martin.
For those who have space heaters, Martin says it’s important to make sure they are properly set up. Leave at least three feet of distance between your space heater and any other object in the room. Make sure the heater is properly placed on the floor, and never leave it running unattended.
According to the National Fire Protections Agency, heating sources are the second leading cause of home fire injuries, and the third leading cause of home fire deaths.
Columbus residents who want their smoke alarm professionally checked can call the Smoke Alarm Hotline at 614-724-0935. Central Ohio residents can call 1-844-207-4509.
FRANKFORT, Ky. — The Kentucky House of Representatives and Senate put forth companion bills on Saturday to provide $200 million in housing and educational services following the December 2021 tornado outbreak.
The bill would provide funding through the West Kentucky State Aid Funding and Emergencies Fund including:
$30 million to the Kentucky Department of Education for school districts affected by the December storms.
$15 million to the Department of Military Affairs, Division of Emergency Management to be used for procuring temporary FEMA-eligible housing units.
The bill's sponsors in the House are Speaker David Osborne, Richard Heath and Steven Rudy. Heath and Rudy represent western portions of the state where over 70 people were killed.
Draft bill language and a press release from the Kentucky House Republicans didn't state how the rest of the $200 million would be allocated.
The statement said the House would put its version of the bill to a vote on Monday, Jan. 10 and and expected it to pass.
Portage County homeowners have the opportunity to apply for reimbursement from the Ohio Emergency Management Agency for the construction/installation of a tornado safe room inside or outside their homes.
A safe room is a structure specifically designed to provide protection in extreme weather events. The Ohio Emergency Management Agency’s rebate program provides a rebate of up to 75 percent to homeowners selected for the program.
Applications are being accepted through Feb. 4.
“In neighboring Kentucky last month, a catastrophic tornado killed close to 100 people, and Ohio has seen its own share of deadly tornadoes as well,” Gov. Mike DeWine said. “Because our entire state is vulnerable to tornadoes, we’re offering these rebates to help cover some of the costs associated with the added protection of a safe room.”
In late December, law enforcement and other first responders from across Wood County held a drive by parade, to show support for 42-year-old Sgt. Jody Swoap.
WTOL - Toledo January 10, 2022
WOOD COUNTY, Ohio — A Wood County Sheriff’s Deputy who had been in the ICU battling COVID-19 passed away on Sunday.
Sgt. Jody Swoap, 42, of Bowling Green died at the Wood County Hospital according to a social media post made by State Representative Haraz N. Ghanbari.
On December 30, law enforcement officers and other first responders from around Wood County held a drive-by parade at the hospital to show support for Swoap as he battled COVID.
Sunday is National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day.
As our nation reflects on National Law Enforcement Appreciation Day, this evening I learned Wood County Sheriff's Office Sergeant Jody Swoap passed away at the Wood County Hospital. A U.S. Marine Corps veteran, Sergeant Swoap continued to serve our comm…https://instagr.am/p/CYh_n10Moac/
Renewed business shutdowns and near universal mask mandates appear to be off the table, and instead of issuing new executive orders, many governors are urging people to follow public health recommendations. | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Via AP File
Columbus Dispatch / Associated Press January 8, 2022
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Governors took sweeping actions during earlier surges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many closed schools and ordered businesses shut down. They issued mask mandates, vaccine requirements and even quarantines in some places for people who had traveled to out-of-state hot spots.
Not this time, even as the exponential spread of the super-contagious omicron variant shatters COVID-19 infection records. While governors are sending help to hospitals, they are displaying little appetite for widespread public orders or shutdowns.
Even Democratic governors who passed strict mandates early on are now relying more on persuasion than dictates. They largely are leaving it up to local officials to make the tough calls on decisions such as whether to limit capacity in restaurants and theaters or keep schools open.
South Carolina set a record for positive tests over the New Year’s weekend and COVID-19 hospitalizations are up 67% from the week before. But Gov. Henry McMaster, a Republican, urged everyone to carry on as if everything’s fine. “If you get real sick, there will be room in the hospitals,” he promised this week.
“There’s no need to panic. Be calm. Be happy,” McMaster said. “We just had a great Christmas season. Business is booming.”
McMaster has consistently urged people to get vaccinated and in the earliest days of the pandemic, he directed K-12 schools and colleges to move to distance learning. But students are back in classrooms across the state, and he continues to resist imposing any statewide business shutdowns.
California is grappling with an astonishing spike in infections, and the state health department extended an indoor mask mandate to Feb. 15, but the state’s Democratic leaders included no mechanism to enforce it. “I think a lot of people will self-enforce and do the right thing,” Gov. Gavin Newsom told reporters last month.
The sentiment seems familiar to Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan. The Republican announced a 30-day state of emergency to fight the omicron variant surge, but it doesn’t include the same statewide mask mandate ordered earlier in the pandemic.
“I’m not sure the people that are refusing to wear a mask are going to wear one anyway, and we don’t have the ability to enforce it,” Hogan said. “So we’re just strongly encouraging people to wear the damn mask.”
New Jersey has had the second-largest U.S. caseload during this surge, after New York, and Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy asked the legislature to renew his emergency powers so he can continue a mask mandate in schools. But renewed business shutdowns and near universal mask mandates appear to be off the table, and instead of issuing new executive orders, he’s urging people to follow public health recommendations.
“Here is what we need everyone to really take to heart — the need to mask up, to get boosted, and to just practice common sense,” Murphy said.
Even governors who pushed the hardest for restrictions during earlier outbreaks have settled on appealing for people to take personal responsibility. Oregon removed its mask requirement from outdoor crowds in November and hasn’t reinstated it. Schools and businesses remain open, and Democratic Gov. Kate Brown has urged booster shots as the best way to combat the virus.
“Our focus right now is on making sure our most vulnerable Oregonians have access to booster shots and ensuring we are ready to support our hospital systems,” the governor’s spokesman, Charles Boyle, said in an email.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, was one of the first to close schools in March 2020 as the virus began spreading rapidly through the U.S. But his desire to take aggressive measures has waned, and since the summer he has focused on voluntary mask wearing and vaccinations.
“We don’t have the practical ability to really put on a statewide mask order at this point,” DeWine said in late December. “I don’t think it’s appropriate at this point. We have the vaccine. We have the tools.”
Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte, while listing his accomplishments during his first year in office Tuesday, said that through previous COVID-19 surges there was little differences in case counts between states run by Republicans that tended to take fewer precautions and those run by Democrats, which generally took stronger actions.
In North Carolina, Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper is still leaving it to local governments to decide whether masks should be required in stores or government buildings rather than ordering them statewide, and encouraging but not requiring local school boards to retain mask mandates for students and staff.
Cooper has taken this tack even though the Republican-controlled legislature has lacked veto-proof majorities necessary to overturn his previous statewide COVID-19 mandates.
“We’re going to have to learn how to live with it, and continue to keep our kids in school and our businesses open and all of our government operations running effectively and efficiently,” Cooper said.
Pandemic fatigue among the public has led Utah Gov. Spencer Cox to suggest COVID-19 and its variants could be treated more like the flu or any other contagious disease. The focus, he said, should be on reducing the effects of the illness through vaccines and medicines, not government mandates. On Thursday, he encouraged people to wear masks as cases hit record levels and the state was running out of monoclonal antibody treatments, but stopped short of calling for new rules.
“We have lots of illnesses that spread very quickly,” he said last month. “But if they’re not filling up hospitals and killing people, you know, we go about our business. If they are filling up hospitals and killing people, then obviously it becomes much more concerning.”
The Ohio Department of Health has now reported a total of 2,189,228 coronavirus cases in the state.
WTOL / WBNS January 9, 2022
COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Department of Health reported 19,089 new COVID-19 cases and 92 additional hospitalizations on Sunday.
Health officials in Ohio expect the omicron variant to become dominant throughout the state. While the delta and omicron variants appear to act similarly in some ways, doctors say omicron appeared to be much more contagious.
The state is also experiencing the highest number of COVID-related hospital admissions since the start of the pandemic. The silver lining is that cases are starting to drop in northeast Ohio.
Reported data as of Jan. 9:
2,189,228 cases
30,072 deaths
99,531 hospitalizations
1,831,304 presumed recoveries
7,056,859 (60.37%) have received at least one dose of the COVID-19 vaccine
Like Ohio’s hospitals, the lobby group for nursing homes reports many of those in the Buckeye State are short-staffed due to the surge in COVID cases.
The Ohio Health Care Association’s Pete Van Runkle says about 84% of residents in nursing homes are vaccinated, and when those residents get COVID now, he says they aren’t as sick as they were earlier in the pandemic. Now, he says nursing home workers are the ones who are getting sick. Van Runkle says 66% of workers in nursing homes are vaccinated, leaving about a third who aren’t.
“About 65% of the cases we are seeing presently in long-term care, that’s broader than skilled nursing but mainly skilled nursing, are staff cases,” Van Runkle says.
Van Runkle says staff illness is one reason many nursing homes are short-staffed right now. He explains many are forced to hire expensive temporary nursing services to be able to take care of patients. He also says nursing homes are often forced to lower capacities at their facilities. And, to make matters worse, he says many workers are leaving nursing home jobs because they are simply burnt out from the weight of the pandemic.
Ohio National Guard members have been helping to relieve some of the staffing shortages in hospitals. And Van Runkle says while there are a couple of nursing facilities that have received similar help, most of them are left trying to figure out how to deal with staffing issues on their own.
On a cold and snowy Thursday afternoon, Tracy Cloud had her hands full.
Pulling big garbage bags out of her SUV, she lugged the items a short distance from the parking lot into a room with "SIQ YMCA" on the door. Cloud walked into the back of the room and began opening the bags, revealing a variety pack of Frito-Lay chips, a box of Nature Valley granola bars and packs of thick socks.
"My neighbors in Westerville all donated these," Cloud said.
The donations are for an isolation and quarantine shelter for the homeless (SIQ), which is located at the America's Best Value Inn on Dublin-Granville Road in Columbus' Northland neighborhood.
The shelter is operated by nonprofits Community Shelter Board, the YMCA of Central Ohio and Lower Lights Christian Health Center.
Need for COVID quarantine homeless shelter rising as omicron cases surge
The shelter opened in April 2020 as a way to house homeless residents who had tested positive for COVID-19 or who had been exposed to the virus because existing shelters aren’t set up to provide the necessary distancing.
"That was one of the very first things we did because we knew we had to have a safe place for people who had COVID to recover where they weren't transmitting it to others," Community Shelter Board Executive Director Michelle Heritage said.
School is back Monday morning for many college students across central Ohio. Many have COVID-19 mandates and guidelines to keep students safe.
10TV - Columbus January 9, 2022
COLUMBUS, Ohio — School is back Monday morning for many college students across central Ohio and so are COVID-19 mandates and guidelines to keep students safe.
10tv spoke with Julia Gott, a junior at Otterbein University about going back to school.
“A pandemic like this is insane. It's not something that you'd expect,” she said.
Otterbein University requires students, faculty and staff to be fully vaccinated unless they qualify for a medical or religious exemption. Masking is also required in all indoor spaces on campus.
Before Otterbein students return to school, all residential students must test negative before moving onto campus.
For Gott, it’s something that she takes very seriously.
"My grandparents did get COVID in September of 2020. They're both 90 years old and they're both healthy now,” she said. "I just want to protect those around me because I do not want anyone to go through what I’ve gone through."
At Ohio State University, all health protocols are in place. Masks should be worn indoors and handwashing is encouraged. Students will have to take a COVID-19 rapid test when they get to campus.
The university said all students who live in university housing on all campuses, members of social sororities and fraternities and students and employees who have an approved exemption, will be required to take a weekly PCR test.
Lawrence Walker, who dropped his daughter off at school this semester, said these rules that are in place give him one less thing to worry about.
"This year has been a lot better; she has a lot more in-person classes. You know, overall she's here to go to school,” Walker said.
In Athens, Ohio University will continue to make sure students remain safe from COVID-19. The University said food and drinks won’t be served at any in-person event, gathering or meeting.
Ohio University will also require everyone to wear a face-covering while in a public indoor space. Vaccines are required for all OU students, faculty and staff members, or they must have an approved exemption. All students living in university housing and sororities and fraternities will be required to complete a weekly asymptomatic test.
Capital University will also have masking required for everyone in all University buildings and all residence hall spaces. Capital University will also require students to be tested prior to classes starting. The University said if testing is not done, students ID’s access will be turned off until testing has been completed.
Back at Otterbein, Gott said it's better knowing that every little detail in place is to keep students safe.
"It's very relieving to go to class knowing that they take precautions.”
WASHINGTON, D.C. — COVID-19 cases and hospitalized patients continue to impact health care systems across the country. However, government officials are expected to make some big changes this week, specifically with at-home tests.
Last week, Jeff Zients, the White House COVID-19 response team coordinator, said beginning this week, insurers will start reimbursing people for at-home tests.
"Those tests will be reimbursed by commercial insurance," Zients said.
No official guidance has been released about the process.
The prices of at-home tests vary. Usually, they are between $14-$25. However, the price has gone up nationwide over the last few days after various agreements with the federal government expired.
REIMBURSEMENT PROCESS
If a pharmacy or store doesn't work with an insurance company to make the test free up-front, it will likely mean the consumer will have to pay for it first on their own.
Consumers will likely have to go online and submit a claim to get reimbursed.
That process for some insurance companies takes 10 minutes to complete— with the money being refunded in 10-15 days, although that time span may vary.
NEW GOVERNMENT WEBSITE
As far as getting the government website up and running so that people can request free at-home tests, major news is expected this week as well.
According to The Washington Post, the federal government is finalizing an agreement with the U.S. Postal Service to ensure enough staff to deliver the tests.
The federal government has ordered 500 million tests.
The public contracting period for the initiative has closed, meaning tests will begin arriving at government facilities this week.
According to health officials, testing production has been increasing nationwide. In September, the U.S. was producing around 50 million tests per month. This month, officials expect the country to make 200 million.
