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The freshly fallen snow, drifting roads and bitter windchills similar to those one week ago have clogged county roads, causing slide-offs and collisions.
"The forecast is not good," said Kosciusko County Sheriff Al Rovenstine. "We feel that with the wind picking up the way it is we are going to have trouble with drifting all day."
One county officer has already had trouble with the weather conditions.
A Koscisuko County Sheriff's Department patrol unit was rear-ended this morning while stopping to check on an abandoned car on U.S. 30. The deputy, driver and her two children were uninjured in the collision.
Rovenstine reported that Deputy Tim Sammons will be using a spare patrol unit until his can be repaired. The icy road conditions on U.S. 30 contributed to the car sliding into the police unit.
The storm combined with last week's has made snow clearing almost a 24-hour job for some Warsaw city workers.
Some workers on the snowplow crew for Warsaw Street Department have been working since 7 a.m. yesterday morning. The department reported a few were sent home around 8 p.m. Wednesday.
With two workers scheduled to be back in at noon, the rest of the crew will be back plowing snow in full force at 6 tonight.
Warsaw Mayor Jeff Plank asked residents to try to park off the street tonight so crews can clear snow.
School and activity cancellations were on the rise this morning, and some Kosciusko County schools called delays last night.
More than 40 schools and businesses have closed their doors because of dangerous conditions this morning.
More than a dozen counties were under snow or ice emergencies today, ordering motorists to stay off roads to allow plowing.
Winds of 40 mph north of Indianapolis triggered white-out conditions, and authorities closed U.S. 31 North in Hamilton County, saying it was too dangerous to drive.
The National Weather Service issued a winter weather advisory today for the northern third of Indiana, and a wind chill advisory was in effect for central and southern Indiana.
The combination of cold air and strong winds was expected to drop the wind chill to 25 to 35 below zero in the north and central parts for most of the day. In the south, the wind chill was headed toward 20 to 25 below by midday.
Thirteen counties declared snow emergencies: Benton, Cass, Clay, Daviess, Fountain, Hendricks, Howard, Martin, Montgomery, Owen, Tipton and Vigo, Warren. An ice emergency was declared in Vermillion County.
Near the Michigan border, county roads were covered with 5 inches of new snow, said state trooper Shanna Kennedy of the Lafayette post.
"Everything up there is a mess," she said.
The storm began Wednesday during a relative heat wave: The temperature was up to 19 degrees in Elkhart by late morning and 28 in Evansville, compared with single-digit readings earlier.
The ice- and snow-bearing storm moved northeast through the state after frosting Missouri and Illinois.
A Texas man was killed Wednesday afternoon when the car he was driving collided with a tractor-trailer on Interstate 65 in Clinton County, Indiana State Police said.
Mac McClellan, 34, of Grand Berry, Texas, died from massive head injuries after his car slid under the trailer. The truck had lost control on Interstate 65, crossed a median and slammed into a semi heading in the other direction.
More than 200 traffic accidents were reported in Marion County from 2 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, and 110 accidents were reported in Tippecanone County.
"It's just people traveling too fast for conditions again," Ms. Kennedy said.
At the Good & Plenty Cafe in Logansport, co-owner Marty Smith said her customers were guessing how much more snow they were in for.
Smith said she's tired of it all.
"It's cutting into business," she said. "Our clientele is mostly retired people, so they stay home. I would too, if I could."
Friday and Saturday could bring another chance of snow in far northern Indiana, otherwise dry and continued very cold conditions were expected, with lows from zero to 10 below and highs from zero in the north to 15 above zero in the south.
Sunday's forecast calls for another chance of snow with lows from 10 to 15 and highs in the 20s.
