[dateline] -- Snow and ice covered Central Ohio roadways on Wednesday morning, providing for a treacherous commute.
A few inches of snow are all it takes to make driving a little tricky around Central Ohio, but as the day progressed, snow turned to slush and then to water, causing wet roads. But side streets are a different story, NBC 4's Matt Alvarez reported.
"The roads are pretty bad, as you know. I'm just trying to stay warm and out of everyone's way," said Anthony Mobley, a USPS worker. "You have to watch sliding in and make sure you don't hit anything."
Although the snowfall came and went relatively fast, remnants of snow, slush and wet conditions may be key ingredients for a deep re-freeze, as temperatures are expected to remain below freezing.
Road crews were out in force since 11 p.m. Tuesday, when the snow began falling, but more than 12 schools in outlying counties were delayed or closed and several areas were under snow emergencies.
One person died in a weather-related accident on Wednesday morning.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol said William Federico, 44, of Fremont, was pronounced dead at the scene of the accident in Ottawa County in northern Ohio.
Federico's car slid across the centerline and collided with a snowplow-equipped dump truck clearing and salting an Ottawa County road shortly before 6 a.m, the patrol said.
The National Weather Service reported unofficial snowfall totals of 8 inches in Cleveland, 10 inches in Parma and 15 inches in Pierpont, east of Cleveland.
Northeast Ohio started getting hit on New Year's Day, when snow and wind cut power to about 10,000 customers. Power had been restored to all of them by Wednesday morning, FirstEnergy Corp. spokeswoman Ellen Raines said.
The National Weather Service said before noon Wednesday that the heaviest of the snow had passed, leading forecasters to cancel a winter storm warning in the Cleveland and Akron areas. The weather service said lake effect flurries were still possible, and it continued to advise about the potential for blowing and drifting snow in northern Ohio.
In southwest Ohio, about 4,000 households lost power Tuesday evening when freezing temperatures caused a number of circuit breakers to fail. Most customers had electricity restored before early morning temperatures dropped to single digits.
Highs only in the teens were expected in many parts of the state.
Morning commuters in the Cincinnati area faced slow going, with numerous accidents. In nearby Butler County, the sheriff declared a Level 2 snow emergency for about five hours and urged people to avoid nonemergency travel.
Some stretches of Interstate 70 were reduced to one-lane traffic, the Dayton post of the State Highway Patrol said. The Lebanon post reported accidents on Interstates 75 and 71 in southwest Ohio.
Stay with NBC 4 and refresh nbc4i.com for additional information.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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