The strongest winds have passed through the Miami Valley, as wind gusts have tended to drop to about 40 or 45 mph at midnight and remain in the range of 30 mph to 40 mph overnight and into Friday, Storm Center 7 Chief Meteorologist Jamie Simpson said.

Light snow accumulations area expected by morning, with slick spots developing. The steadiest snow likely to come in the morning then taper a bit as we head into the afternoon and evening, Simspon said.

Sometime after 9 p.m. Thursday, snow began falling south and west of Dayton as the cold front moved through southwest Ohio. Air temperatures in Butler, Preble and Warren counties were close to 32 degrees while road temperatures remained in the range of 40 degrees and that meant the snow wouldn’t be sticking, Simpson said.

Throughout the evening, power outages and downed limbs and trees were reported as the result of wind gusts of well over 50 mph, Simpson said. Trees, limbs and wires were blown down from Dayton to Sugarcreek Twp. to Moraine, from Springfield Twp. in Clark County to Miamisburg, where the second half of a tree that had fallen into the street in the 700 block of East Pearl fell into a house and car.

“We were sitting in the living room when it happened” just after 5 p.m., said Paula Roy. City crews had cleaned up the half that had fallen into the street, she said. Five minutes later, the winds made the remaining part of the tree a continuing nuisance.

The friend who was there with Roy, Holly Diflora, said the crashing tree, “sounded like a thunderstorm, like a big huge train or something coming through the house.”

Neither the house nor car sustained major damage, Roy and Diflora said, and they were not injured.

The high winds continued to rake the area, ushering in snow that is expected to be widespread throughout the region.

“Once the snow arrives, gusts should settle back into the 30- to 40-mph range for the overnight,” Simpson said.

At about 9 p.m., the leading edge of the light snow was about the Indiana/Ohio line.

“It will not be until 11 p.m. or midnight that roads start to get slick” because temperatures are still in the upper 30s, he said.

By midnight temperatures will fall to 30 degrees and we’ll see light snow the rest of the night.

“A half inch to inch of rain has fallen, so one thing we’ll have to keep an eye on is if all the moisture on the roads dries before we do fall below freezing,” he said earlier Thursday evening. “If not we may get some icy spots then put some light snow on top of it.”

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory that remains in effect from 7 p.m. Thursday until 10 p.m. Friday. The NWS said hazards include snow-covered roads and limited visibility.

Counties under the advisory include Preble, Montgomery, Greene, Clark, Champaign, Miami, Darke, Mercer, Logan, Shelby and Auglaize. Butler, Warren and Clinton counties are not included because less snowfall is expected there. Those counties are under a wind advisory through 4 p.m. Friday.

Dayton Power & Light has increased staffing for Friday and initiated storm emergency preparations.

“When winds exceed 40 mph we anticipate problems, including tree limbs hitting power lines or uprooted trees falling and taking down lines,” the company said.

Simpson said that roadways are expected to remain slick on Friday.

“Due to winds still in the 30 to 40 mph range, road crews will have a tough time battling blowing snow,” he said.

Light snow will gradually taper Friday night, but may not come to an end until after midnight in northern counties.

Simpson is predicting snow accumulations of 1 to 2 inches south of the Dayton metro area, 2 to 3 inches in Dayton, along the Interstate 70 corridor and north to Troy, Greenville and Urbana, and 3 to 4 inches north of that.

“With a bit of snow on the ground I have lowered the high temperature for Saturday afternoon to 33 degrees despite a lot of sun,” Simpson said. “It will still be a bit breezy early, so a low of 21 may feel like about 10 degrees.”

Sunday will be a bit better with sun again and low of 24 degrees followed by a high of 38 degrees. There is a chance for some light rain or snow showers Monday with highs in the upper 30s.

“If they linger long enough we may see some flakes still around Christmas morning,” Simpson said. It will not be enough to make Christmas “white” though.

Simpson said initial reports of heavy rain Wednesday ending as some snow Thursday of next week now may pass us to the south. “If this trend continues we may get very little of anything,” he said.