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Fairfield Public Works snow plow driver Clint Emmons, an 11 year veteran, cleans up a neighborhood off of Gilmore Rd. late Thursday afternoon, Jan. 7, 2010.

Staff photo by Greg Lynch Fairfield Public Works snow plow driver Clint Emmons, an 11 year veteran, cleans up a neighborhood off of Gilmore Rd. late Thursday afternoon, Jan. 7, 2010.

Jackknifed tractor trailer gridlocks I-75 south.

By Ryan Gauthier and Dave Greber, Staff Writers Updated 9:07 AM Friday, January 8, 2010

Accidents piled up throughout Butler and Warren counties Thursday, Jan. 7, on snow-slick roads as heavy snowfall created hazardous driving conditions and forced schools to shut down and many businesses to close early.

Many schools Thursday night already were announcing closings and delays for today after about 4 inches of snow fell with scattered snow showers and freezing temperatures expected to continue through today.

“If the roads are wet overnight, road conditions could be hazardous (this morning),” said meteorologist Mike Gallagher of the National Weather Service in Wilmington.

Today’s total accumulation is expected to be about a half inch, and temperatures are expected to drop to about 15 to 20 degrees, Gallagher said.

The snowfall today will be a reprieve from the heaviest snowstorm of the season to hit Southwest Ohio.

Butler, Warren and Preble counties each issued a Level 1 snow emergency, during which motorists are advised to drive “very cautiously” because of blowing and drifting snow on icy roads.

Ohio State Highway Patrol reported numerous accidents throughout the area, including one involving a jackknifed tractor-trailer at about 2:25 p.m. that blocked all four soutbhound lanes of Interstate 75 in West Chester Twp., just south of the Union Centre Boulevard exit.

In Lebanon, a Ford Explorer slid off an icy street and flipped onto frozen Turtle Creek at about 11 a.m., but driver Mike Oaks of Lebanon and a passenger were not injured, said Lebanon police Sgt. Chuck Durée.

Lt. Anthony Lauer of the Ohio State Highway Patrol said roads got increasingly worse as the day progressed, with nearly a dozen “crashes occurring pretty much all over the area.”

Butler County dispatchers reported about 30 to 40 accidents, saying it was impossible to pinpoint any specific area because “they’ve been absolutely everywhere.”

Warren County Sheriff’s Office dispatchers said things have been significantly more quiet, with about 10 reported before 4 p.m.

The good news, Gallagher said: “It will be mostly clear on Sunday with a little sunshine.’’

But temperatures are expected to continue to fall to between zero and 5 degrees with a high of about 20 by Sunday.

Staff Writer Tiffany Y. Latta contributed to this story.

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