Snow blanketed parts of Ohio Saturday as a blast of winter weather descended over the Midwest and Northeast, bringing with it frigid temperatures and sparking freeze warnings from New York City to North Carolina, forecasters said.
Toledo recorded nearly 8 inches of snow and Cleveland had more than 4 inches on the ground by Saturday afternoon, the National Weather Service said. The town of Oakland in western Maryland had 9 1/2 inches of snow, the weather service said.
In the Chicago area, chef and restaurateur Jean-Claude Poilevey was killed in a crash at around 12:43 a.m. on I-290, and state police said icy roads were a factor in the accident.
A total of 15 cars were involved in five separate crashes in the same area, Illinois State Police said. Three others were hurt but their injuries were not life threatening, police said. Poilevey owned popular Chicago restaurants La Sardine and Le Bouchon, NBC Chicago reported.
The spring snowstorm comes after the Midwest was socked with a winter blast that left 13 inches of snow in Sand Bay, Wisconsin, the Weather Channel said.
The 5.4 inches of snow that fell in Grand Rapids, Michigan, broke a daily snowfall record set in 1938, the National Weather Service said.
The trough of cold air sent temperatures plummeting far below norms and was setting up a chilly Sunday for much of the Ohio Valley and Northeast. The weather was too cold for baseball in Washington, D.C., Saturday, where a Nationals-Marlins game was postponed due to temps in the 20s and 30s.
Temperatures in New York City are expected to be 27 degrees Sunday morning, 14 degrees below average; Pittsburgh and Detroit will likely be in the low 20s; and Washington, D.C. should be at around 27 degrees, forecasters said.
The temperature in Columbus, Ohio, at noon Saturday was 30 degrees — 31 degrees below the normal high for the date, the National Weather Service said.
The freeze warning in New York City and Long Island is set to expire at 10 a.m., and warmer temps are expected to sweep north and turn any potential snow into mostly rain by Sunday night, forecasters said.
