Situation update on winter storm as of 8:35 a.m.

Winter storm warning banner

A winter storm warning remained in effect this morning for all 37 counties served by the northern Indiana National Weather Service office. See the latest verbatim warning statment.

As of 7:15 a.m. EDT, the NWS office near Syracuse reported 4.5 inches of snow on the ground so far. At 7:42 a.m., WANE-TV meteorologist Jesse Hawila reported four inches of snow with wind gusts to 30 mph near the intersection of Hillegas and Ardmore Roads. As of 8 a.m., the official snow measurement at Fort Wayne International Airport was 4.9 inches, with a snowfall rate of 2 inches per hour for the preceding two hours!

Utilities are reporting sporadic power outages across the area. As of 7:51 a.m. EDT, Indiana Michigan Power reported 3,538 customers were without power in Allen County, Indiana. In Whitley County, another 2,796 I&M customers had no power. At 8:20 a.m., the DeKalb County Emergency Management Agency reported outages in Auburn, Ashley and Corunna.

County travel status map
Travel status by county as of 8:40 a.m. EDT. Orange: watch. Yellow: advisory. See definitions.

Allen County, Indiana declared a “watch” travel status at 8:33 a.m., an upgrade from the “advisory” status declared at 6:06 a.m. A watch status means, “only essential travel, such as to and from work or in emergency situations, is recommended.” As of 8:40 a.m. EDT, Several other northern Indiana counties, including Whitley, Huntington and Wells, were also at a “watch” travel status. Grant and Adams were at the advisory level, which means “routine travel or activities may be restricted in areas because of a hazardous situation, and individuals should use caution or avoid those areas.”  See the latest travel status map for the entire state.

INDOT road conditions map
Road conditions as reported by INDOT at 8:15 a.m. EDT. Blue road indicate “fair” conditions. Purple road indicate “difficult” conditions, the worst rating given.

As of 8:15 a.m. EDT, the Indiana Department of Transportation reported that road conditions throughout the Fort Wayne are were “fair,” while conditions just to the north and west were “difficult,” the worst rating INDOT gives. See the latest road condition map, because conditions were deteriorating rapidly and police were reporting many slide-offs and crashes.

For the latest information on the storm use the following resources: