A freak bout of bad weather took motorists by surprise today, causing a major accident involving about 50 cars on I-75 in Ohio.

The accident occurred between Monroe and Middletown, and while no fatalities have been reported, several injuries were. Authorities say the pileup happened around noon and, while details are scarce, some who were at the scene say it all started when a few snow flurries turned into a sudden blizzard, with almost zero visibility.

“We’ve been stopped on I-75S since noon,” driver Keith Clasgens wrote on Facebook. “We are about 150 yards behind the accident. For those criticizing people driving in the snow, this was a freak situation. Conditions went from dry and light flurries, to blizzard-like conditions (very low visibility, slick, etc.) in seconds. I had seconds to adjust and slide. We missed the pile up by 10 seconds.”

For now, that stretch of road has been shut down while authorities clear the wreckage and take care of the injured motorists; they say it should reopen around 3:30. They are reporting that the easiest way for motorists to avoid the chaos is to take I-75 toward Cincinnati, then exit 36 on southbound State Route123 to southbound State Route 741.

Image: Nick Graham, WHIO-TV