Columbus snowplows clear mix of sleet, freezing rain and snow from a storm in February. City and county road crews are gearing up for a winter storm forecast to begin this afternoon.
Republic file photo
Frigid cold and dangerous driving conditions are the last thing anyone wants for Christmas.
However, the National Weather Service has issued a winter storm warning in effect for Bartholomew, Brown, Decatur, Jackson and Jennings counties from 4 o’clock this afternoon until 1 o’clock Friday afternoon.
“The big story is the extreme cold,” said Cummins Inc. retiree David Epperson, who holds a doctorate in atmospheric sciences from North Carolina State University.
With winds gusting as high as 50 miles per hour, wind chills will fall as low as 25 below zero, the NWS warns. Such conditions can cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 15 minutes.
Watch for ice
Motorists are warned that after today’s rains, slippery road conditions will develop as the temperature drops after sunset.
“It’s going to be dropping from perhaps the low 40s in the late afternoon quickly into the teens,” Epperson said. “Ultimately, the temperature will fall below zero by daybreak on Friday.”
Known as a flash freeze, the rapid temperature drop in south central Indiana will cause water on the ground to quickly become ice. Flash freezes are especially dangerous when the ice is so thin that it cannot be seen by drivers.
Despite erroneous reports on social media last weekend that a blizzard was imminent, the NWS is predicting total accumulations of only 1 to 4 inches in Columbus. While Epperson’s weather models indicate we may only get 2 to 3 inches, he is not ruling out slightly higher amounts.
Widespread blowing snow is expected to significantly reduce visibility regardless of the amount, the NWS says.
Bartholomew County Emergency Preparedness Director Shannan Cooke is urging local residents to stay alert to the forecast and the possible changing weather. If you must travel, the NWS is urging you to keep an extra flashlight, food and water in your vehicle in cast of an emergency.
County preparations
The county highway department began pre-treating roads with salt brine mixed with beet juice on Monday, highway engineer Danny Hollander said. Used extensively in Canada, beet juice helps the salt cling to the asphalt and melts snow and ice when it’s as cold as 5 degrees.
“But if we get too much rain (today), that may wash it all off before it can do anything to melt the ice,” Hollander said.
Freezing rain and freezing drizzle is not likely when the precipitation transitions to snow, Epperson said. However, both he and the NWS warn that strong winds could bring down tree branches on top of electrical equipment, resulting in power outages.
On what has been anticipated as one of the holiday season’s busiest travel days, extremely cold arctic air and patchy blowing snow means hazardous conditions are expected to impact travel on Friday.
“It’s going to be hard to tell if it’s actually snowing or just blowing snow from overnight,” Epperson said.
“We’re just going to have to assess the ice situation,” Hollander said. “If it’s single digits, salt isn’t going to do anything. It may be all we can do is keep the snow and any drifts off the road.”
The county has 15 dump trucks, plus two administrators with snowplows attached to the front of their pickup trucks, Hollander said. In addition, the county has three-ton trucks manned by mechanics, which allows them to join in the snow and ice removal effort unless they are called back to Petersville to make repairs.
While the highway department is currently fully staffed, the county only hires one shift of workers. For that reason, care has to be taken not to wear crew members out before the worst weather arrives, Hollander said. If the driver are exhausted, accidents tend to happen, he added.
After a mid-week meeting with Emergency Preparedness Director Shannan Cooke, the Bartholomew County Highway Dept. made a decision to have four of their employees spend the night at their East 25th Street headquarters near Petersville. Their major responsibility will be to ensure that emergency responders can get where they need to go, Hollander said.
“Otherwise, we’re just gonna let it happen,” the highway engineer said. “All of us will be back at 4 or 5 o’clock Friday morning.”
While temperatures are expected to only climb into the low teens on Christmas Day, Sunday is also scheduled to bring sunny skies that might help highway crews do their jobs. But highs will only reach the low teens, so motorists are advised to continue to be on the lookout for slick spots, especially on bridges and overpasses.
City preparations
At the Columbus City Garage, mechanics have been preparing their 20 trucks, according to Bryan Burton, the city’s director of public works.
Although the garage currently has sufficient drivers to handle those vehicles, the city doesn’t have as many backup drivers as they prefer. The garage has a short crew list, especially on weekdays when his department is also running sanitation routes, Burton said.
In the city, blowing and drifting snow should only be a problem in areas such as the Columbus AirPark and along Deaver Road, Burton said. The worst drifting will take place in open, rural areas, he said.
If there are several last-minute holiday shoppers out from tonight through Friday night, traffic congestion could make driving conditions even more hazardous. However, if most families stay home during the worst part of the winter storm, it will be best for them, as well as for his road crews, Burton said.
So how unusual is this winter storm during the Christmas holiday?
“Back on Christmas Eve in 2017, we had a flash freeze when it went from rain to snow,” Epperson recalls. “But that was followed by a couple of weeks of very cold temperatures when it didn’t rise above 10 degrees.”
But it won’t be that bad this year. Epperson said temperatures are expected to start warming back up on Christmas Day. He predicts the whole country will be experiencing milder temperatures from Dec. 28 through at least Jan. 3.
