T-L Photo/JENNIFER COMPSTON-STROUGH Robert Coe, 10, of Belmont holds up his sled while enjoying a romp in the snow on Friday.

ST. CLAIRSVILLE — The Belmont County Water & Sewer District issued a 48-hour boil order that is in effect until late Monday due to a temporary lack of power for equipment.

All Belmont County water customers, including bulk buyers such as villages, should boil water before consumption or dental hygiene use.

The weight of the ice accumulation during a storm Thursday and Friday caused tree branches and power lines to fall, and in some places transformers exploded and burned when struck. The same ice impacted the water department’s equipment, causing low or no pressure for a time in some areas. The bil order took effect when pressure was restored.

A good deal of progress toward restoring electricity had been made by Sunday afternoon, but pockets of residents and businesses remained in the dark. In some cases, companies such as South Central Power say the estimated restoration time is as late as Wednesday evening.

More than 1,700 AEP Ohio line, support, forestry and contractor crews continued to make repairs to damaged electrical equipment throughout the weekend. The company said the storm Thursday and Friday created “a challenging working environment mainly in eastern and southern Ohio.”

Ice and snow pummeled the region for two days beginning Thursday, leading to dangerous travel conditions and power outages.

Ohio Department of Transportation spokeswoman Lauren Borell said she believed the area was “through the worst” of the storm on Friday.

“ODOT has certainly had their hands full over the last … 36 hours or better with this storm. Of course in Belmont County we saw more freezing rain, especially (Thursday) even going into the evening. It took some time for it to switch over to snow, but we have had crews out there 24/7 around the clock,” Borell said. “We’ve been patrolling the roads at first. When we got that freezing rain, and then of course we’ve been plowing, so it’s been a lot going on for them.”

She said other areas in the region were also seeing difficulties.

“Harrison was very similar to what they were receiving there in Belmont did,” she said. “Especially (Thursday) evening with that switch to freezing rain, they were having a lot of issues with downed trees, same as Belmont County, and we’re seeing downed power lines as far as from (Thursday) into (Friday).”

She said the latest news as of Friday was about fallen power lines on Ohio 149 near Flushing.

Borell added that the rest areas on Interstate 70 east and westbound in Belmont County were closed beginning at 8 p.m. Thursday due to power outages.

A portion of U.S. 250 in Harrison County near the Jefferson County line was also closed briefly Thursday night due to downed power lines.

“We’ve been battling the roads, and the trees have been an issue,” Borell said. “There’s just been a lot with this storm.”

She said more squalls occurred Friday.

“It seems like the storm keeps building on itself on the back side of it. Just when we kind of get in a clearing, we have another swath come through,” she said. “Our crews are going to be working around the clock until the event is over. I wouldn’t plan on seeing clear roads until sometime (Saturday) based on these snow squalls, and of course we’re watching for blowing and drifting snow.”

Borell said ODOT drivers are maintaining safe practices and, fortunately, there have been few vehicles on the road and fewer crashes.

“That’s something we’ve been urging folks since early in the week,” she said. “We know there’s first responders and folks who have to get to their job. We understand that and we respect that, but we’re asking that they use extreme caution in these types of conditions and give themselves plenty of time to get to their destination.

“When we say, ‘The roads are going to be hazardous,’ we don’t use that language lightly when talking to the public,” she said.

She added the OHGO traffic monitoring app has had some issues updating on Apple devices, but the problem should be corrected if users update the app on their Apple device.

Ohio 147 was closed Friday from Centerville to Bellaire “because of power poles and power lines down across the road,” according to Dave Schafer, Belmont County transportation administrator for ODOT.

He said it wasn’t the condition of the road, which was clearing up as of early Friday afternoon, but those obstructions that were causing problems.

Schafer said Ohio 149 within Flushing was also closed because of downed power lines.

“Then 149 between Morristown and Flushing, about half of it’s closed for the same reason,” he said, noting the condition of the roads early Friday was shaping up “rapidly.”

“Really, the snow has slowed down and material works far better in daylight than it does in dark,” Schafer explained. “So, the conditions of our roads are improving dramatically as we speak.”

Will Sedgmer of Harrison County’s ODOT garage said U.S. 250 was dicey from Cadiz toward Belmont County.

The Belmont County Courthouse in St. Clairsville was closed Friday due to hazardous driving conditions and loss of power. Belmont County Commissioner Jerry Echemann said the Belmont County Emergency Management Agency was on duty, monitoring streams and creeks.

“Weather-wise, it’s starting to taper down,” Belmont County EMA director Dave Ivan said Friday. “Our big issue now is power outage, working those issues.

“We’re just trying to keep our proverbial head above water and trying to address issues as they come up,” he said.

“It’s still snowing pretty hard. The ice has stopped, thank goodness,” Harrison County EMA Director Eric Wilson said Friday. “We recommend if you don’t have to be out, stay home. Harrison County does not do snow levels, but the roads are in rough shape. If you can stay off the roads, let the road crews do their jobs and get it cleaned out. … We’ve got numerous trees down. We’ve got numerous power lines down. We tell people if they see a line down, treat it as live. Don’t go near it. Call officials or the power company.”

Sgt. Brian McFarland of the St. Clairsville Post of the Ohio State Highway Patrol said the roads have been comparably quiet.

“We’ve had very few crashes. The biggest concern is the ice on the power lines and trees,” he said. “Traffic’s been very light. … We have a full crew out.”

“There’s several state routes that have power lines down and either South Central Power or AEP is in the process of trying to restore power,” he said.

Belmont County was placed under a Level 2 Snow Emergency by Sheriff David Lucas on Thursday evening. That means that roads were hazardous with blowing and drifting snow and potentially very icy. Only those who feel it is necessary to drive under such conditions should do so. Motorists are advised to use extreme caution, and people are encouraged to call their employer to see if they need to report to work.

“We have a lot of downed trees, a lot of power outages and we’re still at a Level 2,” Chief Deputy James Zusack of the Belmont County Sheriff’s Office said Friday. “The storm’s about ending, I hope. … Not too many people on the roadways, so that’s good. We want ODOT and the county road people to get the roads back up to par.”

“The roads are pretty bad,” Richland Township Trustee Greg Clark agreed. “A lot of fallen down trees.”

Conditions were somewhat worse in Monroe County on Thursday night..

“We were on a Level 3. Roads are starting to shape up a little bit, so we went back to a Level 2, but State Route 78’s closed due to the fact of trees and power lines that are down,” Monroe County Sheriff Charles Black said Friday. “Water has receded. It’s back in the banks, so we don’t have flooding at the moment except for some little runs where culverts are plugged up. County roads, they’re not too desirable at the moment, but state routes are travel-able.

“Very few crashes, but we’ve been plastering on social media the levels, telling people,” he said. “People are heeding the warnings.”

In addition to difficult travel, the storm led to a water conservation order for all Belmont County water customers. People served by the county water system were asked to conserve due to the extensive power outages across the region. The outages led to low pressure or a total lack of water service in some locations. No waterline breaks were reported, but a 48-hour boil order will be in effect once full pressure is restored.

Staff Writer J.D. Long contributed to this report.