Monthly Archives: January 2014

SKYWARN

Winter weather update

Here’s an update on the winter weather situation in northeastern Indiana as of 4:15 p.m. EST Monday, Jan. 6.

The winter storm warning that had been in effect expired at 4 p.m. EST But a wind chill warning remains in effect until 8 p.m. EST Tuesday, Jan. 7. You can read the full text of the wind chill warning here, but below are the highlights:

GUSTY WEST WINDS OF 20 TO 30 MPH ARE STILL POSSIBLE 
OVERNIGHT...CAUSING AREAS OF BLOWING SNOW AND DRIFTING ALONG 
NORTH-SOUTH ROADWAYS.

HAZARDOUS WEATHER...

 * SLOWLY FALLING TEMPERATURES INTO THE 10 TO 20 BELOW ZERO RANGE
   OVERNIGHT. DEADLY WIND CHILLS BETWEEN 30 BELOW AND 40 BELOW
   ZERO CAN BE EXPECTED THROUGH TUESDAY MORNING.

IMPACTS...

 * 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.

A record low temperature of -13 degrees was set at Fort Wayne International Airport at 10:54 a.m. EST today (see screen shot from the NWS website, below). The temperature might fall even lower before midnight. The current -13 low breaks the old record of -12 set in 1970.

Screen shot of -13 observation at 10:54 a.m.

Below is a look at how much snow fell in the entire area covered by the northern Indiana National Weather Service office between 9 a.m. EST Sunday and 9 a.m. today.

The travel advisory warning that prohibited non-emergency travel in Fort Wayne, New Haven and unincorporated Allen County will expire at 6 p.m. A “code yellow” travel advisory watch will replace it, until 7 a.m. Tuesday. A Travel Watch means that conditions are threatening to the safety of the public. During a watch, only essential travel, such as to and from work or in emergency situations is recommended. Drivers should be aware that conditions are hazardous. Please drive slowly and have emergency supplies in vehicles, along with a cell phone.

According to the Allen County Facebook page:

Though the travel status has been reduced from a Warning to a Watch, many county roads will continue to be affected by winds and drifting which will make some of those roads impassable. And while main city streets have been cleared, they are still slick and will remain that way with the dangerously cold temperatures.

As of 4;30 p.m. EST, no county served by Indiana Michigan Power had more than 500 customers without power, In Allen County, outages continued to affect 125 customers.

Disasters, SKYWARN

Allen County State of Emergency & Travel Warning to Expire at 6 p.m.

From the Allen County Facebook page:

State of Emergency & Travel Warning for Allen Co. to Expire at 6 p.m.; Travel Watch in effect until 7 a.m. Wed.

The State of Emergency and Winter Weather Travel Warning for Allen County, including the cities of Fort Wayne, New Haven and Woodburn, will be allowed to expire at 6 p.m. today. In their place, a Winter Weather Travel Watch for the entire county will be in effect until 7 a.m. Wednesday.

A Travel Watch means that conditions are threatening to the safety of the public. During a Watch, only essential travel, such as to and from work or in emergency situations is recommended. Drivers should be aware that conditions are hazardous. Please drive slowly and have emergency supplies in vehicles, along with a cell phone.

Though the travel status has been reduced from a Warning to a Watch, many county roads will continue to be affected by winds and drifting which will make some of those roads impassable. And while main city streets have been cleared, they are still slick and will remain that way with the dangerously cold temperatures.

The public’s help in staying off of streets and roads as much as possible will allow crews to continue with plowing operations so that fire, law enforcement and ambulance services are able to meet the needs of the public.

All Allen County and City of Fort Wayne government offices will be open on Tuesday and employees should report for work.

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.