With a blanket of snow covering Licking County overnight Thursday and into Friday morning, it was a slow start to the day.
Virtually all school districts in the county were closed Friday to the delight of children everywhere and the dismay of parents who still had to travel for work.
The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory through 1 a.m. Saturday, calling for several inches of snow that will make roads slippery and travel hazardous during the Friday evening commute.
The forecast called for snow through at least 10 a.m. Friday, then snow showers into the afternoon
The weather service called for a total daytime accumulation of up to 2 inches, but some areas of the county already had 3 to 4 inches on the ground by 10 a.m. Friday.
Snow showers were expected to continue overnight, and the temperature was expected to drop from a daytime high of 25 to a low of around 9 degrees. The wind chill values could be as low as -3 because of a northwest wind of 10 to 13 mph. New snow accumulation of less than a half inch is possible.
On Saturday, there’s a chance of snow showers, mainly before 4 p.m. It’ll be mostly cloudy, with a high near 19 and wind chill values as low as -7. Saturday night will be mostly cloudy, with a low around 9. Wind chill values as low as zero are possible.
Sunday will be mostly sunny, with a high near 22. And Sunday night will be partly cloudy, with a low around 13.
On Monday, it will be partly sunny, with a high near 35. And Monday night into Tuesday morning, there is a chance of rain after 1 a.m.
The warming trend is expected to continue on Tuesday, when rain is likely, mainly after 1 p.m., with a high near 41. Rain will continue Tuesday night and throughout the day on Wednesday.