Between 6pm Tuesday and 2pm today, @FortWaynePolice reporting 23 property damage & 5 injury accidents plus 91 slide offs. Stay safe driving!
— Audra Streetman WFFT (@audrastreetman) February 5, 2014
Monthly Archives: February 2014
Allen County continues travel advisory
Allen County government issued the following statement at 3:01 p.m.
A Winter Weather Travel ADVISORY remains in effect for all of Allen County.An advisory means that routine travel or activities may be restricted in areas because of a hazardous situation, and individuals should use caution or avoid those areas.
Motorists should be aware of blowing and drifting snow, especially along east-west roads, and that some areas may still be impassable. If travel is necessary, please drive slowly and have emergency supplies in vehicles, along with a cell phone.
County highway crews continue to work to remove snow from roads through the early evening hours and will resume early Thursday morning.
NWS issues storm total snowfall report
PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
0300 PM EST WED FEB 5 2014 /0200 PM CST WED FEB 5 2014/
********************STORM TOTAL SNOWFALL********************
LOCATION STORM TOTAL TIME/DATE COMMENTS
SNOWFALL OF
/INCHES/ MEASUREMENT
INDIANA
...ADAMS COUNTY...
DECATUR 8.0 930 AM 2/05
...ALLEN COUNTY...
S FORT WAYNE 10.0 148 PM 2/05
5 SW FORT WAYNE 9.6 100 PM 2/05
MONROEVILLE 9.6 1130 AM 2/05 STORM TOTAL
3 ESE HUNTERTOWN 9.0 900 AM 2/05
2 N WOODBURN 9.0 955 AM 2/05
...BLACKFORD COUNTY...
HARTFORD CITY 8.0 730 AM 2/05
...CASS COUNTY...
1 ESE GALVESTON 7.8 800 AM 2/05
...DE KALB COUNTY...
1 NE AUBURN 5.0 1000 AM 2/05 STORM TOTAL.
1 NNE BUTLER 4.1 800 AM 2/05 STORM TOTAL.
...DEKALB COUNTY...
AUBURN 10.0 1120 AM 2/05 STORM TOTAL
...ELKHART COUNTY...
NAPPANEE 5.7 636 AM 2/05
...FULTON COUNTY...
AKRON 8.0 955 AM 2/05
...GRANT COUNTY...
2 N MARION 7.0 700 AM 2/05
...HUNTINGTON COUNTY...
BIPPUS 8.0 638 AM 2/05
HUNTINGTON 7.0 1030 AM 2/05
...JAY COUNTY...
PENNVILLE 9.0 845 AM 2/05
...KOSCIUSKO COUNTY...
2 SW NORTH WEBSTER 13.6 242 PM 2/05
1 S WINONA LAKE 13.0 1200 PM 2/05 STORM TOTAL
WARSAW 12.0 925 AM 2/05 STORM TOTAL AT 845 AM
4 ENE LEESBURG 12.0 154 PM 2/05
2 SW LEESBURG 12.0 1041 AM 2/05
CLAYPOOL 10.0 850 AM 2/05
...LA PORTE COUNTY...
2 SW LA PORTE 6.4 1000 AM 2/05
2 SW LAPORTE 6.4 1000 AM 2/05
5 N LA PORTE 5.0 1055 AM 2/05
...LAGRANGE COUNTY...
TOPEKA 8.0 1120 AM 2/05
10 E LAGRANGE 4.1 800 AM 2/05
...MARSHALL COUNTY...
BOURBON 12.0 1130 AM 2/05 STORM TOTAL.
CULVER 10.0 1235 PM 2/05 STORM TOTAL.
4 W PLYMOUTH 9.0 1130 AM 2/05 STORM TOTAL.
PLYMOUTH 5.8 500 AM 2/05
...MIAMI COUNTY...
2 NW PERU 9.6 141 PM 2/05
MEXICO 8.5 1211 PM 2/05
AMBOY 5.0 937 AM 2/05
...PULASKI COUNTY...
5 N MEDARYVILLE 5.5 800 AM 2/05
...ST. JOSEPH COUNTY...
LAKEVILLE 6.0 953 AM 2/05
2 S ROSELAND 4.9 1158 AM 2/05
...STARKE COUNTY...
4 SW NORTH JUDSON 6.5 900 AM 2/05
...STEUBEN COUNTY...
METZ 9.0 1015 AM 2/05
4 NNW HUDSON 8.7 1140 AM 2/05
PLEASANT LAKE 8.0 800 AM 2/05
5 N HUDSON 6.2 900 AM 2/05
ANGOLA 5.4 700 AM 2/05
...WABASH COUNTY...
NORTH MANCHESTER 9.0 130 PM 2/05
1 NW LA FONTAINE 5.0 900 AM 2/05
...WELLS COUNTY...
1 SE BLUFFTON 7.0 800 AM 2/05
...WHITE COUNTY...
5 W CHALMERS 7.0 600 AM 2/05
...WHITLEY COUNTY...
COLUMBIA CITY 12.0 1241 PM 2/05
LARWILL 9.5 1140 AM 2/05 STORM TOTAL
MICHIGAN
...BERRIEN COUNTY...
1 WNW BUCHANAN 6.0 1000 AM 2/05
BENTON HARBOR 5.5 921 AM 2/05
SAINT JOSEPH 4.5 700 AM 2/05
...CASS COUNTY...
5 NNW DOWAGIAC 6.2 900 AM 2/05 STORM TOTAL.
...HILLSDALE COUNTY...
W READING 6.0 130 PM 2/05
5 E PITTSFORD 4.5 1220 PM 2/05
LITCHFIELD 4.3 1235 PM 2/05 STORM TOTAL.
...ST. JOSEPH COUNTY...
2 E CONSTANTINE 4.0 800 AM 2/05
OHIO
...ALLEN COUNTY...
3 NE LIMA 8.1 900 AM 2/05
SPENCERVILLE 8.0 849 AM 2/05
...DEFIANCE COUNTY...
1 E DEFIANCE 8.7 1000 AM 2/05
...FULTON COUNTY...
WAUSEON 5.0 600 AM 2/05
...HENRY COUNTY...
NAPOLEON 8.0 745 AM 2/05 STORM TOTAL SO FAR
...PAULDING COUNTY...
GROVER HILL 9.5 1115 AM 2/05 STORM TOTAL.
ANTWERP 8.5 1100 AM 2/05
PAULDING 4.4 700 AM 2/05
...PUTNAM COUNTY...
COLUMBUS GROVE 8.0 919 AM 2/05
...VAN WERT COUNTY...
VAN WERT 7.5 907 AM 2/05 STORM TOTAL SO FAR
CONVOY 4.0 1205 AM 2/05
...WILLIAMS COUNTY...
1 NW BRYAN 8.0 859 AM 2/05
1 WSW MONTPELIER 1WS 5.7 751 AM 2/05
Winter storm will continue to impact area this afternoon
 |
| Webcam view of I-69 in Fort Wayne |
At 12:18 p.m. the northern Indiana office of the National Weather Service issued an update to the Winter Storm Warning that remains in effect until 4 p.m. You can read the verbatim statement, but here’s a synopsis:
- Blowing and drifting snow will continue this afternoon….especially in open and rural areas, primarily affecting east-to-west roadways.
- Travel will be very difficult. Interstates 65, 69, 75 and 80 will be impacted.
- Primary roads, including U.S. highways 6, 24, 30, 31 and 33 will be snow-covered and hazardous.
- Storm total snow accumulations are expected to be 7 to 12 inches.
As of 1 p.m., the official storm total snowfall at Fort Wayne International Airport was 9.6 inches. That’s 1.9 inches more than Fort Wayne’s normal snowfall for the entire month of February. It also makes this winter the second snowiest on record.
At 11:30 a.m., the City of Fort Wayne announced that street crews had plowed the main arterial streets and were salting them. Secondary streets should be completed by this afternoon and they will be moving into residential streets by late this afternoon. Crews will work through the night and into tomorrow on residential streets.
Crews were keeping up with the latest snow event through about 4 a.m., when a heavy snow dumped more than four additional inches of snow in a three hour period. During that time period drivers reported that as soon as they made one pass down a street it was covered again within minutes.
Winter storm continues
 |
| Early-morning webcam view of Fort Wayne International Airport. At 7 a.m. EST, the official observer at the airport reported a storm total so far of 8.5 inches. |
Winter Storm Warning remains in effect
A winter storm continued to bring snow, with blowing and drifting, to the Midwest this morning. A Winter Storm Warning remained in effect until 4 p.m. EST for northeastern Indiana, northwestern Ohio and parts of southern lower Michigan. According to a statement issued at 8:42 a.m. by the northern Indiana office of the National Weather Service (NWS), snow will gradually end today. Additional snow accumulations this morning are expected to be 1 to 3 inches with storm total snow accumulations by midday of 6 to 11 inches. Areas of blowing and drifting snow will continue into this afternoon, creating the following impacts:
- Snow covered roads with falling and blowing snow will produce extremely hazardous travel conditions into early afternoon.
- North winds will continue to cause considerable blowing and drifting, primarily on east to west roads.
As of 7 a.m. EST, the official observer at Fort Wayne International Airport reported a storm total of 8.5 inches. To see snow amounts at various locations around northeastern Indiana, southern lower Michigan and northwestern Ohio, view the NWS “Local Storm Report” Web page.
Counties issue travel advisories, watches and warnings
As of 8 a.m., all counties in northeastern Indiana had issued some form of travel advisory; either an “advisory,” “watch” or “warning,” as described below. Allen County went to the “advisory” level at 6:07 a.m. See the current map on the website of the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.
 |
| Travel advisory map as of 8 a.m. EST |
Warning (red): The highest level of local travel advisory, means that travel may be restricted to emergency management workers only. During a “warning” local travel advisory, individuals are directed to:
- Refrain from all travel;
- Comply with necessary emergency measures;
- Cooperate with public officials and disaster services forces in executing emergency operations plans; and
- Obey and comply with the lawful directions of properly identified officers.
Watch (orange): Means that conditions are threatening to the safety of the public. During a “watch” local travel advisory, only essential travel, such as to and from work or in emergency situations, is recommended, and emergency action plans should be implemented by businesses, schools, government agencies, and other organizations.
Advisory (yellow): The lowest level of local travel advisory, means that routine travel or activities may be restricted in areas because of a hazardous situation, and individuals should use caution or avoid those areas.
Travel “difficult” throughout northern Indiana
 |
| INDOT road condition map as of 8:19 a.m. EST. Purple indicates “difficult” road conditions, the worst rating INDOT uses. |
As of 8:19 a.m. EST, the road condition map on the website of the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) indicated that the condition of all roads in the northern half Indiana were “difficult” (purple), the worst rating INDOT uses. See the current road condition map on the INDOT website.
A ham radio operator on his way to work from northwest of Fort Wayne to northern Fort Wayne reported at 8 a.m. that most roads are snow-covered and some are drifting over. He reported that I-69 had two lanes open but snow covered. Another ham, driving a semi-truck along I-69 between Auburn and Angola at about 8:30 a.m., reported multiple trucks off the road.
INDOT tweeted this morning that it has 835 snow plow trucks deployed, including 133 in its northeastern Indiana district.
Flight cancellations at Fort Wayne International
The storm is affecting some, but not all flights in and out of Fort Wayne International Airport today. Travelers should check with their airlines to confirm the statuses of their flights. None of the airlines are reachable by phone at the local terminal, so the airport authority requests that travelers refrain from calling the airport for information.
Other impacts
- All areas schools, including IPFW, have canceled classes today. Check your favorite media website for notices of other activity cancellations.
- Fort Wayne Mayor Tom Henry tweeted that all garbage and recycling pickup in the city is canceled today.
NWS updates Winter Storm Warning
The northern Indiana office of the National Weather Service issued an updated version of its Winter Storm Warning at 10:12 p.m. In summary, NWS still expects a storm total of five to 10 inches, with the highest amounts along and south of the U.S. 24 corridor. NWS also expects significant drifting, especially on rural, east-west roads. By morning, NWS expects travel to be difficult on all roads, including Interstate highways.
NWS tweet: Blowing and drifting still expected
Winds will pick up overnight, gusting up to 30 mph in spots. This will cause blowing/drifting, exacerbating hazardous travel conditions
— NWS Northern Indiana (@NWSIWX) February 5, 2014
Just 2 inches at W9LW at 10:15 p.m.
Measurement taken at W9LW, southeast side of Fort Wayne, at 10:15 p.m. EST
NWS: Don’t be fooled by lull — more snow coming
According to a meteorologist at the northern Indiana National Weather Service office:
The center of this storm system is still back across Missouri. While there may be a lull in snowfall over the next few hours, steady snowfall is expected through portions of the overnight hours (mainly after 2-3am), especially SE of a Defiance to Fort Wayne to Logansport line as the backside of the low pressure system moves across the area. Forecast snowfall amounts still look to be on track, although northern portions of the area (far NW IN and southern MI) may see an inch or two less than originally forecast.
5.6 inches in Marion by 9:20 p.m.
A member of the general public has reported measuring 5.6 inches of snowfall in Marion, according to a Local Storm Report from the northern Indiana National Weather Service office.