At 4:25 a.m. today, the National Weather Service (NWS) canceled the wind chill advisory that had been in effect for northeastern Indiana. NWS forecast wind chills above -10 degrees today, high enough to be outside its criteria for a wind chill advisory.

While temperatures are rising, roads throughout the area remain slick, as NWS indicated in a Special Weather Statement it issued at 7:27 a.m. EST:

...EXTREMELY SLICK DRIVING CONDITIONS REMAIN FOR MORNING
COMMUTE...

SNOWPACKED ROADS...INCLUDING INTERSTATES AND OTHER MAJOR
ROUTES...WILL REMAIN VERY ICY THIS MORNING. CONDITIONS MAY APPEAR
DECEIVING...HOWEVER THE SNOWPACK HAS BECOME POLISHED BY TRAVEL.
DRIVING TOO FAST MAY CAUSE SUDDEN LOSS OF TRACTION AND CONTROL OF
YOUR VEHICLE. ALLOW EXTRA TIME FOR YOUR MORNING COMMUTE. DRIVE
SLOWLY AND USE CAUTION WHEN APPROACHING CURVES AND BRIDGES. ROAD
CHEMICAL TREATMENTS WILL BEGIN TO BECOME MORE EFFECTIVE BY MIDDAY
AS THE TEMPERATURE RISES INTO THE TEENS.

The above statement is reflected in the Indiana Department of Transportation’s road condition map, which continues to indicate all roads in northeastern Indiana are “difficult.”

Road conditions in northeastern Indiana as of 8:30 a.m. EST Jan. 8. Purple indicates road conditions are “difficult.” Source: INDOT

Local travel advisories as of 9 a.m. Jan. 8. Orange: Travel watch, only essential travel recommended. Yellow: Travel advisory, routine travel or activities may be restricted in areas because of a hazardous situation. White: No advisory. Source: IDHS

As of this morning, no counties in northeastern Indiana continued to restrict travel to emergencies only. The map on the Indiana Department of Transportation website indicates that most area counties are at a “watch” local travel advisory (orange), which means only essential travel, such as to and from work or in emergency situations, is recommended.

Road conditions in northeastern Indiana as of 4:20 p.m. EST Jan. 7. Purple indicates road conditions are “difficult.” Source: INDOT

The National Weather Service (NWS) has replaced its Wind Chill Warning with a Wind Chill Advisory, which remains in effect until 9 a.m. EST Wednesday, Jan. 8. You can read the full text of the advisory on the NWS website, but the highlights appear below.

HAZARDOUS WEATHER...

 * DEADLY WIND CHILLS BETWEEN 15 BELOW AND 20 BELOW ZERO CAN BE
   EXPECTED THIS EVENING AND TONIGHT.

IMPACTS...

 * FROST BITE AND HYPOTHERMIA WILL OCCUR QUICKLY WITH THESE
   EXPECTED WIND CHILLS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A WIND CHILL ADVISORY MEANS THAT VERY COLD AIR AND STRONG WINDS
WILL COMBINE TO GENERATE LOW WIND CHILLS. THIS WILL RESULT IN
FROST BITE AND LEAD TO HYPOTHERMIA IF PRECAUTIONS ARE NOT TAKEN.
IF YOU MUST VENTURE OUTDOORS...MAKE SURE YOU WEAR A HAT AND
GLOVES.

While the danger of cold is easing, the danger of driving is not. As evidence, check out the numerous reports of roads blocked by crashes, etc. on the Twitter feeds of Indiana Department of Transportation and Indiana State Police. Most of the day, ice melting chemicals have not worked on the roads because of the extreme cold. This has left roads extremely slick and hazardous, even where they’ve been plowed and treated. As the temperature rises tomorrow, road should get much better.

Local travel advisories as of 4:35 p.m. Jan. 7. Red: Travel warning, emergency vehicles only. Orange: Travel watch, only essential travel recommended. Yellow: Travel advisory, routine travel or activities may be restricted in areas because of a hazardous situation. White: No advisory. Source: IDHS

According to the website of the Indiana Department of Homeland Security, fewer northern Indiana counties continue to restrict travel to emergencies. Allen County’s travel watch, which recommends essential travel only, remains in effect until further notice, according to a Facebook message.

A situation update from the Facebook page of the Indiana Department of Transportation, Northeast district:

Winter weather update #2 for 1-7-14:

The message of the moment is LOOKS CAN BE DECEIVING. Sunny weather and roads free from loose snow may give drivers the impression that conditions are better than they actually are. But since salt is less effective in these subzero temperatures, a sheet of ice should be expected on ALL ROADS across Northeast Indiana. Again, any road you travel on will be EXTREMELY SLICK. And these conditions will likely continue through tomorrow, when temperatures are expected rise, allowing us to break up that hard-pack snow and ice.

Please, if you have to be on the roads, pack your winter survival kit. Take it slow. Don’t tailgate. Give yourself plenty of time. We don’t want you sliding off the roads, or worse. We truly want you to be safe. And ultimately, these roads aren’t safe, despite our best efforts.

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