Winter Storm Warning: 6-10″ of snow plus significant blowing, drifting

NWS winter storm warning infographic

The National Weather Service infographic above provides a good synopsis of the Winter Storm Warning that covers most of the forecast area of the northern Indiana NWS office. The full statements appear below. Notice that after the introduction, it has three sections, so search for the section that covers your county (I’ve highlighted the section that covers the immediate Fort Wayne area).

To stay informed about this storm as it arrives, monitor the Twitter feed of the NWS northern Indiana office (which you can do by clicking here, even if you don’t have a Twitter account), the office’s Facebook page (which is also viewable to people who don’t have Facebook accounts) and/or the office’s Web page. As time permits between work projects, etc. I will also add posts to this blog to share information I find. The best way to see those is to click the SKYWARN/Severe Wx tab above, bookmark the page that comes up, and check it periodically. You can also sign up for email updates at the top of the right-hand column, but those updates go out only once per day.

URGENT - WINTER WEATHER MESSAGE...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
618 AM EST TUE FEB 4 2014

...WINTER STORM DEVELOPING...

.A STRONG STORM SYSTEM WILL MOVE QUICKLY FROM THE SOUTHEAST TEXAS
COAST THIS MORNING AND INTENSIFY AS IT LIFTS NORTHEAST THROUGH
THE TENNESSEE VALLEY TONIGHT AND THEN INTO SOUTHWEST PENNSYLVANIA
BY DAYBREAK WEDNESDAY. SNOW WILL QUICKLY OVERSPREAD THE REGION
THIS AFTERNOON FROM THE SOUTHWEST TO THE NORTHEAST AND BECOME
HEAVY AT TIMES THIS EVENING INTO TONIGHT.

TOTAL SNOWFALL AMOUNTS BY MIDDAY WEDNESDAY ARE ANTICIPATED TO BE
GENERALLY IN THE 6 TO 10 INCH RANGE WITH THE HIGHEST AMOUNTS
ALONG AND SOUTH OF THE HIGHWAY 24 CORRIDOR. SNOWFALL RATES OF 1
TO 1.5 INCHES PER HOUR ARE POSSIBLE WITH GREATLY REDUCED
VISIBILITIES THIS EVENING INTO TONIGHT. FARTHER NORTHWEST
SNOWFALL AMOUNTS SHOULD GRADUALLY TAPER TO 3 TO 6 INCHES ACROSS
FAR NORTHWEST INDIANA INTO EXTREME SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN.

IN ADDITION...NORTH WINDS WILL INCREASE AND LIKELY CAUSE
SIGNIFICANT AREAS OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW TO DEVELOP LATER
TONIGHT AND CONTINUE INTO MIDDAY WEDNESDAY...ESPECIALLY IN OPEN
AND RURAL AREAS...PRIMARILY AFFECTING EAST TO WEST ROADWAYS.

TRAVEL WILL BECOME DIFFICULT...ESPECIALLY DURING THE WEDNESDAY
MORNING COMMUTE ACROSS THE REGION. INTERSTATES 65...69...75 AND
80 WILL BE IMPACTED. PRIMARY ROADS INCLUDING...6 24 30 31 AND 33
WILL BECOMES SNOW COVERED AND HAZARDOUS. CONSIDER ALTERNATIVE
TRAVEL PLANS...IF POSSIBLE.

NOBLE-DE KALB-PULASKI-FULTON IN-KOSCIUSKO-WHITLEY-ALLEN IN-WHITE-
CASS IN-MIAMI-WABASH-HUNTINGTON-WELLS-ADAMS-GRANT-BLACKFORD-JAY-
WILLIAMS-FULTON OH-DEFIANCE-HENRY-PAULDING-PUTNAM-VAN WERT-
ALLEN OH-

INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...KENDALLVILLE...LIGONIER...ALBION...
AUBURN...GARRETT...WINAMAC...FRANCESVILLE...MEDARYVILLE...
ROCHESTER...AKRON...WARSAW...WINONA LAKE...SYRACUSE...MENTONE...
COLUMBIA CITY...TRI-LAKES...SOUTH WHITLEY...FORT WAYNE...
NEW HAVEN...MONTICELLO...BROOKSTON...MONON...LOGANSPORT...
ROYAL CENTER...PERU...GRISSOM AFB...MEXICO...WABASH...
NORTH MANCHESTER...HUNTINGTON...ROANOKE...BLUFFTON...OSSIAN...
DECATUR...BERNE...MARION...GAS CITY...UPLAND...HARTFORD CITY...
MONTPELIER...PORTLAND...DUNKIRK...BRYAN...WAUSEON...ARCHBOLD...
FAYETTE...SWANTON...DEFIANCE...SHERWOOD...HICKSVILLE...NAPOLEON...
DESHLER...LIBERTY CENTER...PAULDING...ANTWERP...MELROSE...
OTTAWA...PANDORA...KALIDA...FORT JENNINGS...VAN WERT...DELPHOS...
OHIO CITY...LIMA...SPENCERVILLE

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 4
PM EST WEDNESDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NORTHERN INDIANA HAS ISSUED A
WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW AND BLOWING AND DRIFTING
SNOW...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 4 PM EST
WEDNESDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

HAZARDOUS WEATHER...

* SNOW OVERSPREADS THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

* SNOW HEAVY AT TIMES THIS EVENING INTO TONIGHT.

* TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS BY MIDDAY WEDNESDAY OF 6 TO 10 INCHES
EXPECTED.

* AREAS OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW DEVELOPS TONIGHT AND
CONTINUES INTO WEDNESDAY.

IMPACTS...

* SNOW COVERED ROADS AND REDUCED VISIBILITIES IN OCCASIONAL HEAVY
SNOW WILL PRODUCE EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS TRAVEL CONDITIONS BY
TONIGHT.

* DIFFICULT MORNING COMMUTE WEDNESDAY MORNING.

* INCREASING NORTH WINDS OVERNIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY WILL CAUSE
CONSIDERABLE BLOWING AND DRIFTING...PRIMARILY ON EAST TO WEST
ROADS

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW AND BLOWING AND DRIFTING
SNOW MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR
OCCURRING. SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE FORECAST THAT WILL
MAKE TRAVEL DANGEROUS. ONLY TRAVEL IN AN EMERGENCY. IF YOU MUST
TRAVEL...KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT...FOOD...AND WATER IN YOUR
VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.


ELKHART-LAGRANGE-STEUBEN-STARKE-MARSHALL-ST. JOSEPH MI-BRANCH-
HILLSDALE-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ELKHART...GOSHEN...NAPPANEE...
LAGRANGE...TOPEKA...SHIPSHEWANA...ANGOLA...FREMONT...KNOX...
NORTH JUDSON...BASS LAKE...PLYMOUTH...BREMEN...CULVER...STURGIS...
THREE RIVERS...WHITE PIGEON...MENDON...COLDWATER...BRONSON...
HILLSDALE...LITCHFIELD...JONESVILLE

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM EST /NOON CST/ THIS
AFTERNOON TO 4 PM EST /3 PM CST/ WEDNESDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NORTHERN INDIANA HAS ISSUED A
WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW AND BLOWING AND DRIFTING
SNOW...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM EST /NOON CST/ THIS AFTERNOON
TO 4 PM EST /3 PM CST/ WEDNESDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO
LONGER IN EFFECT.

HAZARDOUS WEATHER...

* SNOW OVERSPREADS THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

* SNOW HEAVY AT TIMES THIS EVENING INTO TONIGHT.

* TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS BY MIDDAY WEDNESDAY OF 5 TO 8 INCHES EXPECTED.

* AREAS OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW DEVELOPS TONIGHT AND
CONTINUES INTO WEDNESDAY.

IMPACTS...

* SNOW COVERED ROADS AND REDUCED VISIBILITIES IN OCCASIONAL HEAVY
SNOW WILL PRODUCE EXTREMELY HAZARDOUS TRAVEL CONDITIONS BY
TONIGHT.

* DIFFICULT MORNING COMMUTE WEDNESDAY MORNING.

* INCREASING NORTH WINDS OVERNIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY WILL CAUSE
CONSIDERABLE BLOWING AND DRIFTING...PRIMARILY ON EAST TO WEST
ROADS

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER STORM WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW AND BLOWING AND DRIFTING
SNOW MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED OR
OCCURRING. SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF SNOW ARE FORECAST THAT WILL
MAKE TRAVEL DANGEROUS. ONLY TRAVEL IN AN EMERGENCY. IF YOU MUST
TRAVEL...KEEP AN EXTRA FLASHLIGHT...FOOD...AND WATER IN YOUR
VEHICLE IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY.

LA PORTE-ST. JOSEPH IN-BERRIEN-CASS MI-

INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...MICHIGAN CITY...LA PORTE...SOUTH BEND...
MISHAWAKA...NEW CARLISLE...WALKERTON...NILES...BENTON HARBOR...
ST. JOSEPH...BUCHANAN...DOWAGIAC...CASSOPOLIS...MARCELLUS

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM EST /NOON CST/
THIS AFTERNOON TO 4 PM EST /3 PM CST/ WEDNESDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN NORTHERN INDIANA HAS ISSUED A
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW AND BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW...
WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM EST /NOON CST/ THIS AFTERNOON TO 4
PM EST /3 PM CST/ WEDNESDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER
IN EFFECT.

HAZARDOUS WEATHER...

* SNOW OVERSPREADS THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING.

* TOTAL ACCUMULATIONS BY MIDDAY WEDNESDAY OF 3 TO 6 INCHES EXPECTED.

* AREAS OF BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW DEVELOPS TONIGHT AND
CONTINUES INTO WEDNESDAY.

IMPACTS...

* SNOW COVERED ROADS AND REDUCED VISIBILITIES WILL PRODUCE
HAZARDOUS TRAVEL CONDITIONS BY TONIGHT.

* HAZARDOUS MORNING COMMUTE WEDNESDAY MORNING.

* INCREASING NORTH WINDS OVERNIGHT INTO WEDNESDAY WILL CAUSE
CONSIDERABLE BLOWING AND DRIFTING...PRIMARILY ON EAST TO WEST
ROADS

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SNOW AND BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW
MEANS THAT PERIODS OF SNOW WILL CAUSE TRAVEL DIFFICULTIES. TRAVEL
WILL BE ESPECIALLY DIFFICULT IN RURAL AND OPEN AREAS DUE TO
BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW. BE PREPARED FOR SNOW COVERED ROADS AND
LIMITED VISIBILITIES...AND USE CAUTION WHILE DRIVING.