Major snowstorm? YES!

Oh, please, please, please, come true…

NWS Statement at 16:30 EST Sunday 11 February 2007

The National Weather Service in northern Indiana has issued a Winter Storm Watch… which is in effect from Monday evening through Wednesday morning.

Snow is expected to develop Monday evening and continue through late Tuesday night. The snow may be heavy at times… especially Tuesday into Tuesday night. Total snow accumulations through early Wednesday morning of 10 inches or more are expected. In addition… brisk northeast winds of 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 40 mph will cause considerable blowing and drifting snow… especially Tuesday into Tuesday night… with whiteout conditions possible at times across Interstate 69… Route 30 and many outlying areas.

awc 2007-02-11 20:59:27

Light snow early this morning, probably beginning around 0400 and ending by 0800, left about ¼" new snow. The temperatures had stayed “mild” all night, and even broke above 30°F this morning. This small system was unrelated to the promised “major snowstorm”.

NWS Statement at 11:31 EST Monday 12 February 2007

…Major snowstorm to impact the area tonight through Tuesday night…

A low pressure system will move from the southern plains this afternoon to the Ohio River valley on Tuesday. This system will cause snow to overspread the area from the southwest tonight and Tuesday morning and continue until Tuesday night. The snow will likely be heavy at times. Strong northeast winds will also develop as the low moves through the region. This will result in areas of blowing and drifting snow with near whiteout conditions and some impassable roads possible. Travel will likely be adversely impacted on many major transportation arteries… including parts of Interstate 69… 65… 75… 80… 90… and 94… and Routes 6… 24… 27… 30… 31… 33… and 127.

Current forecast amounts will range from 8 inches across northern portions of the watch area to a foot or more of snow along and south of Route 30.

awc 2007-02-12 12:00:23

NWS Statement at 16:03 EST Monday 12 February 2007

The National Weather Service in northern Indiana has issued a Winter Storm Warning…which is in effect from 7 PM EST /6 PM CST/ this evening to 7 am EST /6 am CST/ Wednesday. The Winter Storm Watch is no longer in effect.

Snow is expected to develop tonight and continue through Tuesday night. The snow will likely be heavy at times on Tuesday. Total snow accumulations through early Wednesday morning will range from 12 to 16 inches. In addition…brisk northeast winds of 20 to 25 with gusts around 35 mph mph will cause considerable blowing and drifting snow…especially Tuesday and Tuesday night…with whiteouts conditions and some impassable roads possible.

As this event unfolds…travel is expected to become increasingly difficult and dangerous across the warning area. Stay tuned for later updates as this potentially crippling snow storm draws near.

awc 2007-02-12 16:11:39

NWS Statement at 03:42 EST Tuesday 13 February 2007

The National Weather Service in northern Indiana has issued a Blizzard Warning…which is in effect until 7 am EST /6 am CST/ Wednesday. The Winter Storm Warning has been cancelled.

A combination of heavy snow and strong northeast winds will result in blizzard conditions developing over much of northern Indiana and Northwest Ohio today and tonight. In addition it will be very cold with wind chills falling below zero by this afternoon and continuing tonight. Storm total snowfall accumulations are expected to range from 10 to 15 inches with heaviest amounts over southern portions of the area.

A Blizzard Warning means severe winter weather conditions are expected or occurring. Falling and blowing snow with strong winds and poor visibilities are likely. This will lead to whiteout conditions and some roads becoming impassable due to drifting snow…making travel extremely dangerous. Do not travel. If you must…have a winter survival kit with you. If you get stranded…stay with your vehicle.

The snow was still south of Fort Wayne, the advancing edge (oriented WNW to ESE) was slightly north of Marion, at 0100 this (13 February) morning. Snow made its way into our area around 0300 (estimated from US 1km composite NEXRAD). I am only guessing since I have not actually ventured outside yet, but it looked like no more than a couple of inches had fallen by 0900. Perhaps a couple more have fallen since then. The wind has been blowing steadily, with gusts in the 10-20 mph range (remember, sheltered anemometer) and there is no sheltered place visible from the house where a reasonable guess could be made of snowfall amounts.

awc 2007-02-13 14:04:08

I went out and snowblowed the driveway and public sidewalks at about 1630, and finally came in about 1820. It is still snowing moderately heavy and quite windy. I took some pictures; mostly of the ruler stuck in various depths of snow. The typical depth in the most sheltered and least "wind tunnel" area of the back yard was 8"--10". The snowdepth before this all started was in the 1"--3" range; so I’m estimating 7" so far (with several hours of snow to go). One snowdrift in the wake of our northern neighbor’s house was about 21" deep when I photographed it; after snowblowing (nearly 2 hours later), it was up to 24" deep. I had one major 15" drift in the driveway (a “bow shock” upwind of my truck) to snowblow through.

awc 2007-02-13 18:46:33

Valentine's Day dawned on 9" of new snow left by the Blizzard of ‘07. The snow, which began around 0300 on the 13th, ended approximately 24 hours later. Snow cover in our yard ranged from 4" in areas open to the wind and without downwind blockage, to 23" in drifts. Typical snow depth in the back yard (protected on three sides from the wind, open only to the prevailing easterly wind during the blizzard) was 10"--12". I have uploaded some pictures to wunderground.com, but those and many more are available in my 2007-02-14 - Blizzard photo album.