With the temperatures expected to drop, people are taking extra precautions to make sure their four-legged family members are staying safe and warm.

Veterinarian Dr. Gary Riggs says pet owners shouldn't underestimate the frigid temps and how they can impact animals.

"Water can freeze up just in the course of the hour, and if you're not checking on it regularly, that means your pets aren't getting any," he said.

"You also have to make sure your pets are in a spot where its insulated and off the ground because its going to be very cold, especially at night."

He says pets should never be outside in extreme winter conditions unsupervised and that you shouldn't have them outside longer than they need to be.

Dr. Riggs says over the years he's seen more animals that need treatment following extremely cold weather.

"We do every year get pets suffering from frostbite as well as some older cats who become dehydrated from lack of water because its frozen," Riggs explained.

He says the best advice of all is to keep your pets inside with you during the cold winter months.

It's been a windy weekend in Northeast Ohio, but the Akron/Canton area has mostly been spared major power outages.

FirstEnergy's outage maps show less than a few dozen customers were still without power as of Sunday afternoon, with Ravenna the most affected area.

Winds, cold and snow are expected over the next few days, and that could bring more outages.

The snowbelt areas along the lake east of Cleveland have a Winter Storm Watch in effect from Monday through Wednesday morning.

As of yet, there are no winter weather warnings or advisories for the Akron/Canton area, though frigid temperatures and below zero windchills and -some- snow are in the forecast for all of Northeast Ohio.

---

On the Web: FirstEnergy, www.firstenergycorp.com

                      National Weather Service, www. weather.gov

A quick "clipper" system will bring an inch or two of snow to the area by this evening, with winds strong enough for the National Weather Service to issue a Wind Advisory for much of Northeast Ohio through Sunday afternoon.

But our roller coaster ride up and down the temperature gauge continues, with forecasts for Monday and Tuesday showing no snow, with highs in the upper 30s on Monday, and near 50 on Tuesday.

URGENT - WEATHER MESSAGE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CLEVELAND OH
1021 AM EST SUN JAN 29 2012

OHZ017-020>023-027>033-036>038-047-292300-
/O.CON.KCLE.WI.Y.0004.000000T0000Z-120129T2300Z/
HANCOCK-MEDINA-SUMMIT-PORTAGE-TRUMBULL-WYANDOT-CRAWFORD-RICHLAND-
ASHLAND-WAYNE-STARK-MAHONING-MARION-MORROW-HOLMES-KNOX-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...FINDLAY...MEDINA...AKRON...RAVENNA...
WARREN...UPPER SANDUSKY...CAREY...BUCYRUS...MANSFIELD...ASHLAND...
WOOSTER...CANTON...YOUNGSTOWN...MARION...MOUNT GILEAD...
MILLERSBURG...MOUNT VERNON
1021 AM EST SUN JAN 29 2012

...WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 6 PM EST THIS EVENING...

* WINDS...SOUTHWEST 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 50 MPH.

* TIMING...LATE MORNING THROUGH THE AFTERNOON.

* IMPACTS...GUSTY WINDS WILL BLOW AROUND LOOSE OBJECTS AND MAY
  KNOCK DOWN SOME TREE LIMBS AND BRANCHES.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WIND ADVISORY IS ISSUED WHEN SUSTAINED WINDS ARE FORECAST TO BE
31 TO 39 MPH OR GUSTS WILL RANGE BETWEEN 46 AND 57 MPH. WINDS OF
THESE MAGNITUDES MAY CAUSE MINOR PROPERTY DAMAGE WITHOUT EXTRA
PRECAUTIONS. MOTORISTS IN HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES SHOULD USE
CAUTION UNTIL THE WINDS SUBSIDE. STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO
FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR UPDATES.

&&

Old Man Winter was in full effect during Rush Hour Thursday afternoon, making the roadways slick for commuters.

Akron Public Works Manager Paul Barnett says they have 51 salt trucks out currently as the snow falls and the temperature drops.

"Later tonight it's supposed to get very cold, which will have us switch to a different material as opposed to traditional rock salt."

Barnett says he's more worried about what we're expecting Friday night into Saturday morning, with four top six inches expected.

He says city workers will be treating roads around the clock.

"We have crews working, treating the roads until this snowstorm is over."

The plan for Barnett and his crew is to treat major roads first and then tackle the side streets as the storm moves through.

One of our readers Eric Wolfe was kind enough to share some photos of the snow-covered roads to illustrate what he and many others had to endure going home.

If you have any pictures of snow covered roads, send them to our Facebook page at

www.facebook.com/AkronNewsNow 

Drivers battled a tough morning on the roadways with cold temperatures and high winds.

Akron Public Works Manager Paul Barnett says crews are working hard to clear the roads before drivers head home during rush hour.

"You're still going to see a lot of snow covered roads. You're going to see some lanes on the interstate snow covered. Hopefully the high speed lane will be completely down to bare pavement," said Barnett.

Crews are using a treated salt on the roadways which includes a combination of beat juice, calcium chloride and salt brine.

"When these temperatures drop down in the teens and the single digits, salt alone becomes ineffective. So, you need some type of an enhancement agent on there to make it effective in those much colder temperatures," said Barnett.

Barnett says road crews will continue to monitor the driving conditions throughout the day.

The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Weather Advisory, which is in effect until 3 p.m.  

Most of the residents at the Akron Zoo are embracing the cold temperatures.

While some zoo visitors may think the animals stay indoors or hibernate, close to 85 percent of the creatures are viewable all year round.

Akron Zoo Spokesperson David Barnhardt says the zoo has focused on obtaining animals that can endure snow and ice.

The South American penguins even have their bath drawn for them daily.

"We do heat their water to a certain temperature and they don't mind coming out at all," Barnhardt said.

The bright pink flamingos enjoy staying outside in the snow, but zookeepers do have to monitor them when it's icy.

"Because of those thin, fragile legs, they can slip on the, so if it's icy, we have to move them in," he said.

Wild Winters At the Akron Zoo by WAKR Lindsay McCoy

Zookeepers assist in moving animals that want a warm place to rest. Barnhardt says they often reorganize space at the zoo's animal hospital and inside additional buildings.

Starting this month, the zoo will host Saturday programs. On Saturdays in January, guests may visit the zoo for its Cabin Feaver Reilever program. The Akron Zoo is open daily from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. through April.

Click here for upcoming program details. 

On the web: AkronZoo.org

Snow and ice crews in Akron were up early to clear the roads Tuesday morning and are scheduled to monitor the roads throughout the day as a Lake Effect Snow Warning remains in effect until noon.

Public Works Manager Paul Barnett says about 47 trucks have been out all morning trying to keep the roads clear for drivers.

"We did some brake tests, didn't have any slipping or slidings on the interstate. We take that the most crucial due to the speeds," said Barnett.

Crews have been out on the roadways for the past 72 hours, according to Barnett. He says most roads and highways are clear and passable. They have now moved their attention to secondary roads especially near the less traveled areas.

He says they see more accidents during the first couple of snow days and hopes drivers will still use caution even though many roads are clear.

"We see a lot more accidents due to drivers not being familiar with driving in snow and ice conditions, so slow is the best way to go."

It was a different story in Portage County. The area experienced more trouble as drivers felt the slippery road conditions.

Dispatchers with the Portage County Sheriff's office say cars were sliding on major roadways including I-76, Rt. 224 and Rt. 14.

Barnett says they are expecting some more lake effect snow later today and will continue to monitor roads throughout the day.

MEDINA-SUMMIT-PORTAGE- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...MEDINA...AKRON...RAVENNA 400 AM EST TUE JAN 3 2012 ...LAKE EFFECT SNOW WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON EST TODAY... * ACCUMULATIONS....ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS TODAY WILL AVERAGE 1 TO 3 INCHES WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS. * TIMING...SNOW SHOWERS WILL BE HEAVY AT TIMES THIS MORNING ALONG WITH SOME BLOWING SNOW. THE SNOW SHOWERS WILL TAPER OFF DURING THE AFTERNOON. * WINDS...NORTHWEST 15 TO 25 MPH. * IMPACTS...SOME DRIFTING OF SNOW IS POSSIBLE IN OPEN AREAS. * TEMPERATURES...16 TO 20. * VISIBILITIES...UNDER A MILE IN THE HEAVIER SNOW SHOWERS.