All posts by Jay Farlow

I'm Jay Farlow. W9LW is my amateur (ham) radio call sign. I've been a ham since 1973. I've been a volunteer storm spotter for the National Weather Service SKYWARN program since the 1970s. I've also been a volunteer EMT and firefighter and member of a disaster medical assistance team. I advise the leadership team of Associated Churches Active in Disaster, a ministry of Associate Churches of Fort Wayne and Allen County. Learn more about w9lw at www.qrz.com/db/w9lw.
Disasters, SKYWARN

Indiana DOT issues situation report

The northeast branch of the Indiana Department of Transportation published the following message on Facebook at 1:02 p.m. EST:

Winter weather update #2 for 1-6-14

Strong winds and bitter cold air will continue across Indiana today. West to northwest winds will gust at 25 to 35 mph, which will result in continued blowing and drifting snow. We will also have very dangerous wind chills at -25° to -40° F. A Winter Storm Warning is still in effect for our northeast and north central regions until 8pm tomorrow. A Wind Chill Warning is in effect until 7pm tomorrow.

We are expecting a gradual warming trend to start in the middle of the week into the weekend. With the warmer air, however, we also have the threat for additional snow on Wednesday and Thursday.

During Governor Mike Pence’s press conference this morning, he emphasized, that this continues to be a dangerous winter storm, in spite of the sunshine you see outside your windows. Please stay off the roads. Stay home, unless it is absolutely critical for you to travel. Staying off the roads will help keep you out of harm’s way.

If you should lose power, then being in a home without power in dangerously low temperatures does put you in harm’s way. If you are in this situation, you may call 911, and either law enforcement, National Guard personnel or other emergency personnel can help get you someplace warm.

INDOT Commissioner Karl Browning stated that 1,800 INDOT workers have responded to the full callout statewide. With the weather working against us, most roads are not clear right now. Most are snow packed, and will likely stay this way until at least Wednesday, when temperatures are expected to rise. Snow pack is drivable, but dangerous. Tonight, ice is likely to re-form, and create slick spots on the roads. There are 22 road closures across the state right now, and getting those roads open is a top priority.

Road Closures in Northeast Indiana:
— US 35 is closed between US 31 and SR 13 in Howard and Grant Counties
— SR 19 is closed between the SR 16 north junction and SR 14 in Miami County
— I-469 northbound at mile marker 20
— I-69 northbound was closed at mile marker 296, the south junction I-469 ramp. This may be cleared.

Also:
— I-65 is closed in all directions from mile marker 172 to miler marker 260
— I-80/94 is closed in all direction from the Illinois State line to mile marker 34 at US 421

SKYWARN

NWS issues updated winter storm, wind chill warnings

A winter storm warning remains in effect for northeastern Indiana, northwestern Ohio and southern lower Michigan until 4 p.m. EST today. A wind chill warning remains in effect for the same areas until 8 p.m. EST Tuesday, Jan. 7. The National Weather Service issued an updated statement at 12:47 p.m. EST, and you can read the entire statement here, but below are the highlights:

HAZARDOUS WEATHER...

 * THE ACCUMULATING SNOW HAS ENDED BUT GUSTY WEST WINDS OF 20 TO
   35 MPH WITH OCCASIONAL GUSTS TO 40 MPH ARE EXPECTED THROUGH THE
   DAY. THIS WILL CAUSE SIGNIFICANT BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW
   WHICH WILL LIKELY KEEP MANY ROADS IMPASSABLE OR RESTRICTED TO
   SINGLE LANES.

 * NEAR STEADY OR SLOWLY FALLING TEMPERATURES IN THE 5 TO 15 BELOW
   ZERO RANGE ARE EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON...BEFORE TEMPERATURES
   FALL TONIGHT INTO THE 10 TO 20 BELOW ZERO RANGE. DEADLY WIND
   CHILLS BETWEEN 30 BELOW AND 45 BELOW ZERO CAN BE EXPECTED
   THROUGH TUESDAY.

IMPACTS...

 * ROADS ARE SNOW COVERED...SLICK AND HAZARDOUS. SIGNIFICANT
   DRIFTING SNOW WILL CAUSE ROADWAYS TO BE PARTIALLY OR FULLY
   IMPASSABLE FOR A PERIOD OF TIME.

 * VISIBILITIES MAY BE REDUCED AT TIMES DUE TO THE BLOWING SNOW
   THROUGH THE REST OF THE DAY.

 * FROST BITE AND HYPOTHERMIA WILL OCCUR IN A MATTER OF MINUTES
   WITH THESE EXPECTED WIND CHILLS. DEATH WILL ALSO OCCUR IF
   PRECAUTIONS ARE NOT TAKEN.
SKYWARN

NWS issues snowfall report

PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
1049 AM EST MON JAN 6 2014


...LATEST SNOWFALL REPORTS FOR THE PAST 24 HOURS...

LOCATION                       AMOUNT    TIME/DATE       LAT/LON              

...INDIANA...

...ADAMS...
DECATUR 1N                     10.0      0700 AM 01/06   40.85N/84.93W        

...ALLEN...
2 NE ROLLING HILLS             12.0      0700 AM 01/06   41.05N/85.24W        
2 WNW LEO-CEDARVILLE           12.0      0950 AM 01/06   41.22N/85.06W        
1 N ROLLING HILLS              11.0      0800 AM 01/06   41.05N/85.27W        
FORT WAYNE  INTERNATIONAL AIRP 9.7       0700 AM 01/06   40.98N/85.19W        
3 NE FORT WAYNE                9.2       0700 AM 01/06   41.10N/85.11W        
WOODBURN 3N                    9.0       0700 AM 01/06   41.16N/84.85W

Read the complete report here.