The weather out there is getting worse as snow starts to fall around Lorain County.

The CT's Bruce Bishop snapped this picture this morning on state Route 57 in Carlisle Township.

A winter weather advisory will be in effect this afternoon and evening and will last until 4 p.m. tomorrow for Lorain and Medina counties.

Many areas were already seeing plenty of snowfall. Chronicle Facebook fan Laura Winningham reported she already had 4 inches of snow in her driveway in Grafton, and Facebook fan Kent Adams in LaGrange said he had 2 inches and was heading out to plow.

The National Weather Service in Cleveland issued the advisory for snow and blowing snow.

According to the advisory, occasional snow today will become heavier tonight and tomorrow morning; blowing and drifting will develop.

By Friday evening accumulation of four to eight inches is expected. Some areas could see even more than that.

According to the National Weather Service, snow and blowing snow could make for difficult travel tonight and tomorrow, especially on untreated roads, and drifting snow could be a problem in open areas.

LORAIN — In an effort to curb growing violence in the city, Lorain police and several other law enforcement agencies launched a massive sweep Tuesday and today, arresting 20 people on charges ranging from drug trafficking to murder.

Only one person — 24-year-old Artis Taylor — who was indicted as part of the operations of a special police task force managed to elude authorities, Lorain police Lt. James Rohner said in a news release.

More mugshots below.

Five people were charged in connection with the Oct. 18 death of 32-year-old Eric Witcher, who died from a heart attack following a fight outside a Lorain bar that involved more than a dozen people. Facing murder and involuntary manslaughter charges are Jason Fowler, 24, Billy Gilbert, 25, Randy Atkinson, 29, Lantous Thorpe, 22, and Cameron Seymore, 27.

Also facing charges for the Oct. 18 fight are Terry Atkinson, Correy Hill, Freddie Sanchez and Bryan Atkinson, according to secret indictments unsealed earlier today.

Facing charges ranging from participation in a criminal gang and drugs to felonious assault for other incidents are Bohannon Miller, Eddie Gage, Brandon Johnson, William Blake, Maurice Palmer, Avery Taylor, Evan Williams, Andrew Lorenzana, Raymond Fowler III, Brandon Johnson and Oneta Roberts. Bryan Atkinson is also facing gang and drug charges in addition to felonious assault and riot charges stemming from the Oct. 18 fight.

Police seized five guns, 1,626 grams of marijuana, 148 grams of powder cocaine, 42 grams of crack and $3,700 in cash during the investigation.

Rohner said the task forced used strategies that targeted guns, gangs and drug trafficking. Those tactics involved examining crime patterns, identifying repeat offenders and concentrating on their activities and associates, Rohner said.

Lorain police Chief Cel Rivera said in the news release that the investigation is ongoing.

“Violence imposes a heavy burden on a community, and gun violence takes a particularly heavy toll,” Rivera said. “We know that this violence is usually concentrated among groups of serious offenders, and remarkably clustered among high risk youth in high risk places at high risk times.”

Anyone with information of Artis Taylor is asked to call Lorain police at (440) 204-2105.

Read Thursday’s Chronicle for more on this story.

Conditions on Lorain County’s roadways seem to have settled down after slick roads during the morning rush had rescue squads responding to at least half a dozen accidents simultaneously. Slowdowns remained for much of the morning, most notably U.S. Route 10, which was backed up from about state Route 83 to the Interstate 480 split.

People were taken to the hospital from two-car accidents in Amherst and Sheffield Township. Eaton Township firefighters responded to a rollover accident in the area of state Routes 82 and 83, and North Ridgeville police were handling several crashes. In Lorain, a vehicle severed an Ohio Edison pole.

Dozens of reports of cars spinning out or sliding off roads were coming in as well.

On Chronicle reader traveling on Route 10 reported seeing a car in a ditch about every mile. Route 10 had been reduced to a crawl about 8 a.m., according to Chronicle Facebook fan Pam Yatson.

The National Weather Service said snow is likely today with a 70 percent chance of precipitation, cloudy skies, a high near 35 and calm wind becoming north around 6 mph. Total daytime snow accumulation of less than one inch is possible.

For tonight: Snow likely. Cloudy, with a low around 25. North wind between 6 and 10 mph. Chance of precipitation is 70 percent. New snow accumulation of less than one inch possible.

VERMILION — A Cleveland man with a history of fencing stolen merchandise to Cleveland-area gas stations faces multiple charges including trafficking in heroin after he was arrested for shoplifting at a local drug store.

Daniel J. Allen, 39, remained in Erie County Jail on $100,000 bond following his arraignment today in Vermilion Municipal Court. Allen is charged with theft, possession drug abuse instruments, identity fraud, possessing criminal tools, possession of drugs, trafficking in heroin and drug paraphernalia, according to police.

Richard A. Price Jr., 20, also of Cleveland, was charged with theft. Police said Price drove Allen to Vermilion, where Allen stole more than $400 in merchandise from the Rite Aid on Liberty Avenue shortly before 1:30 p.m. Monday.

Working off a description of the suspects and the car they fled the store in, police stopped and arrested the two men minutes after the incident.

“They had just turned off Main Street and were going to get on Route 60,” Vermilion Police Sgt. Chris Hartung said.

Police found a large silver-colored insulated cooler bag in the vehicle. The bag was stuffed with merchandise from the Rite Air, including from 15 boxes of antacid medication, disposable razors and other items.

“He’d (Allen) steal stuff like this and take it to Cleveland-area gas stations where he’d sell it to them at less than wholesale prices,” Hartung said. “Owners would pay him $4 a box instead of $8. They definitely knew all this stuff was stolen.”

Allen told police he’d been reselling stolen merchandise for some time.

“He gave us the whole story,” Hartung said. “He said he targeted specific items that did not have those little tags that would be detected (by store security alarms).”

The drug charges filed against Allen stemmed from items found in a jacket and empty cigarette package he had with him when arrested, Hartung said.

The items included 10 doses of suspected heroin, two hypodermic needles and a spoon. The trafficking charge came with a school specification because Allen was within 1,000 feet of a school when he was arrested, police said.

Allen was found to be wanted on a number of outstanding drug-related warrants from Stark County, Hartung said.

When he was first questioned by Vermilion police, Allen gave officers identification that turned out to belong to a deceased Cleveland man.

“The two of them looked similar,” Hartung said. “It turned out this guy (Allen) had 42 aliases.”

Both men entered not guilty pleas at their arraignments Tuesday in Vermilion Municipal Court. Preliminary hearings are scheduled for Allen and Price in March, according to Hartung.

Contact Steve Fogarty at 329-7146 or sfogarty@chroniclet.com.