Press Release:

After reviewing weather forecasts over the last couple of days, it would appear that there is a possibility of significant snowfall over the next two days. The Crawford County Sheriff’s Office will be monitoring roadways during this time and will issue snow emergencies and snow advisories as they apply to current weather situations.

Pursuant to attorney general opinions, the County Sheriff may declare a snow emergency or temporarily close municipal, township, county and state roads within his/her jurisdiction for the preservation of the public peace. Levels will be issued in the following manner:

Level 1 Snow Alert

Roadways are hazardous, drive very cautiously.

Level 2 Snow Advisory

Roadways are hazardous with blowing and drifting snow, roadways are also icy. Only those who feel it is necessary to drive should be out on the roadways. Contact your employer to see if you should report to work.

Level 3 Snow Emergency

All roadways are closed to non-emergency personnel. No one should be out driving during these conditions unless it is absolutely necessary to travel. All employees should contact their employer to see if they should report to work. Those traveling on the roadways may subject themselves to arrest. (Excludes essential employees reporting to and from work or for emergency situations.)

When snow emergencies are issued, the Sheriff’s Office and local Police Departments receive many calls asking what snow level we are under. This ties up dispatchers and emergency phone lines. The Sheriff’s Office will keep local news media up to date on current levels and residents are asked to monitor those media outlets for current snow levels.

Crawford County has a WENS system that is available to the public. This is a public notification system that was purchased and managed by Crawford County Emergency Management. In the event of an emergency or severe weather condition, an alert may be sent to the phone number provided by voice, text and/or email. This is a free service provided by Crawford County, OH, however, normal message fees may apply. To receive text messages to your cell phone, your cell phone must have text messaging capabilities. Notifications are dependent upon external providers (phone carrier, cell phone, email). Crawford County cannot guarantee notifications will be received by the intended recipient.

Alerts sent from Crawford Alerts will originate from 69310 for text messages and (419)563-1870 for phone calls. Please be sure to save these in your phone under Crawford Alerts. Crawford County EMA, the Sheriff’s Office, and other agencies have promoted this several times as another source of emergency notification.

If you have not signed up for this free service, we strongly urge you to consider signing up. In addition to snow levels, you can also receive notifications for tornado and severe weather information, boil advisories, and road closures. You can sign up for this service by visiting the following internet link or by visiting the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office Facebook page

http://entry.inspironlogistics.com/crawford_co_oh/wens.cfm…

If you have any questions, contact the Sheriff’s Office at (419) 562-7906.