A Greenfield Street Department truck drives back to the garage after pouring salt and clearing snow from the first humble snow wave, which fell overnight Sunday through Monday. The city crews expect to work well into Tuesday. (Tom Russo | Daily Reporter)
HANCOCK COUNTY – Jason Stocklin had the perfect reason to go to the grocery store with his 6 year old son before the storm hit on Monday afternoon.
“My wife needed creamer and I needed a reason to drive into the snow,” Stocklin said as he loaded groceries and diapers into the back of his red Jeep Cherokee 4-by-4 outside of Kroger in Greenfield.
His son Levi agreed that driving around in the snow with his father would be fun as Stocklin’s wife Whittney and young daughter June stayed at home.
The Stocklins were among a number of carefree shoppers who made the last few deals on Monday, February 15, in the hours leading up to the great storm that brought heavy snow and stormy winds to Hancock County. Those who wanted to be interviewed for this story treated their shopping sprees as normal chores, perhaps because they are now used to downtime and changed schedules.
The storm, which is part of a massive system threatening 150 million people from Maine to Texas, was expected to shed significant amounts of snow today. Emergency management officials and police asked people to stay home, suggesting it would be difficult to respond to any person stranded.
“It’s going to be treacherous travel conditions for sure,” said Misty Moore, Hancock County’s emergency director.
“When people need to be on the move, they need to be prepared if they get off the road and get stuck,” added Captain Chuck McMichael, Greenfield Police Department information officer. “In this storm you can get stuck for some time before the crews can reach you.”
Drifting snow was a major concern of the road crews, who will have difficulty keeping the county roads open today when windswept drifts are expected to develop.
Officials put Hancock County under an “orange” travel warning at 4:00 p.m. Monday afternoon, meaning drivers should avoid all but essential travel, such as driving. B. going to work or responding to an emergency. The travel warning should remain in place today.
Schools and many offices were already closed on Monday for the President’s holidays, and a number of nonprofits and agencies serving vulnerable populations considered curtailing their services today as the storm breaks and dangerous wind-chill effects emerge. All four district school districts returned to e-learning status for today.
Residents have been asked to check company social media or websites for the latest information on closings and postponements.
A strong combination
The combination of snow, wind and low temperatures made the storm one of the worst in recent history.
Andrew White, a meteorologist for the Indianapolis National Weather Service, noted that the colder temperatures made the storm bigger than normal.
The amount of moisture, combined with the low temperature, created a light, fluffy snow and increased the “snow ratio”; That is, the amount of snow compared to the amount of liquid water in a cloud, White said.
“Where a ratio of 10-1 can be achieved in normal snowfall, it is closer to a ratio of 20-1,” said White. “We get a lot of fluid, which leads to more snow.”
The forecast for the rest of the week is more snow showers with modest additional accumulation. The warmer temperatures will not kick in until Sunday at the earliest, extending the sub-freezing days that began on February 6th.
Monday evening and today will be a challenging time for the road crews. The crews have been deployed for more than 24 hours to date.
Hancock County’s engineer Gary Pool said it has been about two years since the county last dealt with a major blizzard. With that buildup, Pool said many of the county’s smaller roads are likely to be inoperable for a day or two.
“The wind will be the biggest problem,” said Pool.
Green field road inspector Tyler Rankins said he asked drivers to start clearing snow around 2 a.m. on Monday. With the storm expected to continue, employees of other city departments who have a commercial driver’s license are on standby to take the pressure off Rankins’ workers.
“We could plow by Tuesday night,” said Rankins.
The roads department has plenty of salt on hand and has ordered 650 tons more to handle the rest of the reason, Rankins said. Labor costs will also rise due to the snowstorm – since Monday was President’s Day, city workers are paid overtime for all their work.
Pool also anticipated the high cost of dealing with the blizzard between salt and labor costs.
“We say a blizzard costs the county about $ 50,000 an inch,” he said.
Pool and Rankins advised drivers to stay away from the streets and avoid parking their cars on the street if possible. If staying home is not an option, drivers should be careful to avoid snowmobiles. Drivers have less visibility when clearing snow. Pool also advised staying on main roads and, if possible, on state roads as these are rather clear.
Ron Crider, McCordsville’s public works commissioner, said the storm would be an unusual challenge.
“Our main goal is to remove snow and ice in a timely manner,” said Crider. “And for the past four or five years we’ve been spoiled. We haven’t had a lot of snow, but with this race ahead it’s going to be a battle. But I have a very good crew and I think we can take care of that. “
Indiana Department of Transportation spokeswoman Mallory Duncan said the department is providing all resources to deal with the storm, and snow truck drivers are working 12-hour shifts. 30 trucks were used in the field, 50 in Indianapolis.
Because of the low temperatures, according to Duncan, INDOT uses about twice as much salt as at a temperature in the range of 20 to 30 degrees, with about 1,700 tons of salt being used so far (one truck can carry 22 tons at a time). Fortunately, she added, the additional cost is included in INDOT’s budget and there is plenty of salt available.
First responder ready
First responders plan and prepare for weather emergencies like these types of storms, said Tony Bratcher, information officer for the Sugar Creek Community Fire Department.
“We always have a backup plan,” said Bratcher.
The department has a utility plow that clears the way.
“We can put people in this truck and respond to medical calls,” Bratcher said. “Were prepared.”
Fire departments also want to remind people who are shoveling to clear fire hydrants within a three foot radius.
“That would help us a lot,” said Bratcher.
Tony Bratcher of the Sugar Creek Fire Department loads a utility vehicle with snow shovels and salt. The fire department was preparing to respond to drivers who might get stuck in the snow. (Tom Russo | Daily Reporter)
A building contractor shovels a driveway in New Palestine. (Tom Russo | Daily Reporter)
The salt bay in the Greenfield Street section is almost empty. City officials have made arrangements to get more supplies to survive the rest of the winter.
Companies are preparing for a storm
Companies, many of which have had downtime and people working from home for nearly a year, also prepared for the storm, being on private contractor snow removal lists, hoping they can stay open today.
“We got our plowmen ready,” said Jake Burgess, co-owner of FoxGardin Kitchen and Ale in Fortville, of preparations for the restaurant’s parking lot.
He’s more concerned about the inside of the restaurant, especially when it comes to pipe freezing.
“If I don’t have water, I don’t have a restaurant,” he said.
The storm could be good for business, he added.
“It’s always a fun day when it’s a snowy adult day,” said Burgess. “A lot of people work from home the way they are, and when they know they can’t go out, restaurants are usually one of the places they want to go. They are just safe and know they have nowhere to go. ”
Robert Garcia, owner of The Grill in McCordsville, plans to play the storm by ear.
“We just have to do the best we can,” he said. “When the streets are very treacherous and things like that, of course I don’t know if we would stay open for the rest of the day.”
Others, however, accepted the storm.
65-year-old Tom Marlett seemed unimpressed by the forecast when he loaded a couple of bags of groceries into his car in front of Kroger on Monday. He was scheduled to take his first of two COVID-19 pictures at Hancock Regional Hospital in Greenfield this morning, and he intended to be there no matter how much snow fell overnight.
“I’m not too worried about the snow,” said the man in the green meadow. “I just get out and go.”
Kristy Deer, Mitchell Kirk, Jessica Karins, and Shelley Swift of the Daily Reporter contributed to this story.
When you go out, be prepared
Police and emergency officials strongly advise against unnecessary travel during the storm. However, if you do need to be on the go, consider having a winter weather auto kit that includes a phone charger, flashlight, blankets, extra warm clothing, water, non perishable snacks, a hat, and gloves and blankets.
It’s also a good idea to check your headlights and taillights to make sure that snow isn’t blocking them.
Officials encourage people to sign up for Smart911, a mobile alert system that sends information to an app in emergency situations. People are also urged to monitor the emergency agencies social media websites for the latest information.
Individuals needing to travel can call the Indiana State Police at 800-261-7623 for more information about road conditions. Please don’t call 911 to find out the condition of the roads, officials said.
Otherwise, people can call the county emergency number 317-477-1147 if they need protection or want to report a non-life-threatening issue like failed power lines.
