Santa Claus was likely the only traveler who enjoyed Christmas Eve in north central Ohio.
But not even St. Nick and his trusty reindeer were anxious to try Hanley Road hill west of Ohio 13 near Mansfield during the night.
A winter storm roared, rather than growled, through the area, dumping anywhere from six to eight inches of snow and snarling traffic as road crews struggled to keep streets clear.
For a few hours, snow was falling at the rate of an inch an hour, finally slowing but continuing even as the sun came up on Christmas Day on Knox, Richland, Ashland and Crawford counties.
Law enforcement agencies around the area responded to multiple crashes and reports of people sliding off roads and into ditches kept tow trucks busy on a wintry night.
So what do we expect the rest of the holiday weekend?
Thankfully, not too much more snow, though the area may get another inch or two before Christmas Day ends, according to the National Weather Service office in Cleveland.
It will be cold today with the high temperature topping out around 21. West winds will be 14 to 17 miles per hour with gusts as high as 28.
It will be mostly cloudy tonight with a low around 13 and wind chill values as low was -3. Southwest winds will be 16 to 18 mph, with gusts as high as 28 mph.
On Saturday, expect partly sunny skies with a high near 29, though wind chill values may again dip below zero. Winds will be from the southwest at 11 to 15 mph. The low Saturday night will be around 18 and winds will subside to 5 to 8 mph.
It will be mostly cloudy Sunday with a high neat 40 and winds out of the south at 6 to 14 mph. There is a chance of showers Sunday night and the low will be around 33.
A new work week begins Monday under expected cloudy skies and a high near 35.
