Roads still very slick but wind chill advisory canceled

At 4:25 a.m. today, the National Weather Service (NWS) canceled the wind chill advisory that had been in effect for northeastern Indiana. NWS forecast wind chills above -10 degrees today, high enough to be outside its criteria for a wind chill advisory.

While temperatures are rising, roads throughout the area remain slick, as NWS indicated in a Special Weather Statement it issued at 7:27 a.m. EST:

...EXTREMELY SLICK DRIVING CONDITIONS REMAIN FOR MORNING
COMMUTE...

SNOWPACKED ROADS...INCLUDING INTERSTATES AND OTHER MAJOR
ROUTES...WILL REMAIN VERY ICY THIS MORNING. CONDITIONS MAY APPEAR
DECEIVING...HOWEVER THE SNOWPACK HAS BECOME POLISHED BY TRAVEL.
DRIVING TOO FAST MAY CAUSE SUDDEN LOSS OF TRACTION AND CONTROL OF
YOUR VEHICLE. ALLOW EXTRA TIME FOR YOUR MORNING COMMUTE. DRIVE
SLOWLY AND USE CAUTION WHEN APPROACHING CURVES AND BRIDGES. ROAD
CHEMICAL TREATMENTS WILL BEGIN TO BECOME MORE EFFECTIVE BY MIDDAY
AS THE TEMPERATURE RISES INTO THE TEENS.

The above statement is reflected in the Indiana Department of Transportation’s road condition map, which continues to indicate all roads in northeastern Indiana are “difficult.”

Road conditions in northeastern Indiana as of 8:30 a.m. EST Jan. 8. Purple indicates road conditions are “difficult.” Source: INDOT

Local travel advisories as of 9 a.m. Jan. 8. Orange: Travel watch, only essential travel recommended. Yellow: Travel advisory, routine travel or activities may be restricted in areas because of a hazardous situation. White: No advisory. Source: IDHS

As of this morning, no counties in northeastern Indiana continued to restrict travel to emergencies only. The map on the Indiana Department of Transportation website indicates that most area counties are at a “watch” local travel advisory (orange), which means only essential travel, such as to and from work or in emergency situations, is recommended.