From a news release:

Due to today’s winter storm, City offices at Citizens Square will close at noon today.

Emergency services will continue to operate. In addition, residents with questions and concerns may continue to contact 311 to have those issues addressed.

All Fort Wayne Parks & Recreation Department facilities will also close at noon. This includes Salomon Farm, the Botanical Conservatory, Community Center, and the Jennings, Cooper, and Weisser youth centers. All classes and activities located in Park Department facilities will resume on Thursday. The sledding hill at Franke Park is closed to winter weather enthusiasts due to dangerous circumstances.

City officials are asking that businesses throughout the City consider taking similar measures as a result of today’s weather conditions.

It’s anticipated that regular business hours for City offices at Citizens Square will resume on Thursday.

Also, from a separate news release:

Because of the thick and wet snow, garbage and recycling efforts are being suspended for the day. Republic Services pulled trucks from the streets after rapid heavy snow fell on Fort Wayne causing several trucks to get stuck. Collection will run one day behind for the remainder of the week.

City of Fort Wayne Street Department crews reported a thick and wet snow with drifting in many areas, as of 10:30 a.m. Plow trucks were out early this morning and will remain on the main arterial streets while the snow and drifting conditions continue. The heavy, wet snowfall carries additional weight making it more difficult to plow streets.

Additionally, power outages were causing 15 traffic signals to not function this morning. Motorists approaching a signal that is not working should treat the intersection as a four-way stop.

Residents should stay away from downed power lines and report them by calling 911.

Residents should call 311 to report traffic signals that are not working or trees and branches that may have fallen into the street.

This week’s schedule Garbage and Recycling Schedule:

Wednesday collection will be Thursday

Thursday collection will be Friday

Friday collection will be Saturday

As if the snow storm wasn’t enough! Early this morning, the northern Indiana office of the National Weather Service issued a flood warning for the St. Joseph River near Fort Wayne. The NWS says snow melt over the past few days caused flooding.

As of 10 a.m., the river level was 12.5 feet at the gauge near the intersection of St. Joe Road and Eby Road. That’s six inches above flood stage. The river wasforecast to fall below flood stage at approximately 11 a.m. this morning. At 12 feet, the river begins flooding lowland and farmland.

Read the verbatim warning statement.

The public information office of the Allen County commissioners issued a news release at 9:40 a.m. updating the winter storm situation in the county.

The county remains under a “watch” travel status, which 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, drive slowly and have emergency supplies in their vehicles, along with a cell phone.

Heavy snowfall rates combined with the additional weight of this snow is making it more difficult for crews to clear roadways. Motorists should stay off the roads if possible so that highway crews can proceed with the snow removal process, according to the news release.

The county reported dozens of accidents and slide-offs. Although the morning commute has ended, these slide-off and accidents are continuing, particularly along I-69 and I-469.

The heavy, wet snow is also beginning to cause tree branches to break and fall. Some are taking down power lines and some fallen branches are creating traffic hazards. There are numerous reports of wires down and blown electrical transformers causing widespread power outages. Indiana Michigan Power reports over 7,000 customers in Allen County without electricity.

Read the verbatim county news release.

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.

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.

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:

• www.weather.gov/iwx.
• NWS Twitter page (@nwsiwx).
• NWS Facebook page.
• Allen County Twitter page (@AllenCountyInfo).
• Allen County Facebook page.
• Allen County Office of Homeland Security Twitter page.
• Indiana Department of Homeland Security (IDHS) travel advisory page.
• IDHS Twitter page.
• Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) road conditions page.
• INDOT statewide Twitter page.
• INDOT northeast region Twitter page.
• Indiana Michigan Power outage page.
• NIPSCO power outage page.
• The websites, Twitter pages and Facebook pages of your favorite news media.