ASHTABULA — Mother Nature played Grinch Friday, postponing the city’s annual Christmas parade.
Organizer Fran Hanselman called off the parade because of the snowstorm that belted the region Thursday night and Friday morning. The procession has been rescheduled for 6 p.m. Dec. 12.
“It’s been more than 10 years since the parade has been canceled,” said Brenda Sanders, the city manager’s executive assistant.
Ashtabula Area Chamber of Commerce officials said they received many calls Friday morning from parade participants who believed the parade should not go on.
Jane Haines, Ashtabula Downtown Development Association president, said downtown merchants also canceled their holiday open houses.
The blast closed schools across Ashtabula County and made the morning commute an adventure for some. Traffic on Interstate 90 was moving well, and no serious accidents were reported, an Ohio State Highway Patrol spokeswoman said Friday afternoon.
Southern portions of the county were apparently the hardest hit, according to local National Weather Service observers. Some 13 inches of snow fell at Greg Becker’s weather station in Dorset, he said. Most of the white stuff arrived early Friday morning, he said.
Closer to the shoreline, 5.4 inches of snow fell in Ashtabula, said observer Ron Coursen. Combined with snow dumped earlier this week, residents slogged through 9 inches of snow on Friday, he said.
The region has a good chance to set a record for snowy Novembers, Coursen said. Since he began keeping local records 10 years ago, the county’s whitest November came in 2000, when 30.5 inches of snow was measured. So far this month, 24.5 inches have fallen, Coursen said.
“I’m pretty sure we’ll break that record,” he said.
The weekend forecast shouldn’t stand in the way. The National Weather Service says a lake-effect snow warning will remain in effect until 4 p.m. today, and another 2 to 5 inches of snow could arrive. Things will start to calm down tonight, and Sunday should see partly cloudy skies with high temperatures in the middle 30s, according to forecasters.
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