Putnam County under Winter Weather Advisory until 9 a.m. Monday

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Putnam County was under a Winter Weather Advisory through 9 a.m. Monday.

Light snow began falling in Greencastle about 2:30 p.m. Sunday, and although accumulation hadn't amounted to much more than an inch by 8 p.m., slick conditions were occurring across the area.

As the first seasonal snowfall tends to do, it brought with it a number of accidents Sunday night, particularly along Interstate 70 in Putnam County.

Local emergency crews responded to a number of slide-offs along I-70 and U.S. 231, including a one-vehicle mishap that ruptured a gas main south of Greencastle about 6:50 p.m.

U.S. 231 was closed briefly as Vectren shut off the gas line. Traffic was allowed back through the area just after 7 p.m.

Meanwhile, a slide-off at the 42-mile marker of I-70, a mile east of Cloverdale, saw a vehicle go over an embankment because of the slick conditions.

Another I-70 accident resulted in the westbound lanes being closed at the 33-mile marker about 7:45 p.m. after a semi jackknifed and collected two other vehicles in the mishap. No injuries were reported there.

Message written in fluffy snow on a rear car window Thursday night became a frosty word of warning Friday morning for the winterlike chill that has invaded central Indiana.

An accident near the 32-mile marker of westbound I-70 involved entrapment, with a Fiat reported on its side, while a mile further east, a Toyota was reported in the same predicament.

On West Walnut Street Road west of Greencastle, a pair of accidents were reported about 8:15 p.m. with a Jeep involved in an entrapment mishap at County Road 500 West.

Under the Winter Weather Advisory, Putnam County and Greencastle were in an area expected to get 2-3 inches of snow by morning.

Parts of Indiana were forecast to receive up to five inches of snow, more accumulation expected to the south and east.

Sunday's snowfall was the second time in the last couple of days that flurries have fallen locally.

OK, maybe it wasn't exactly Polar Vortex 2.0, but when residents in and around Greencastle awakened Friday morning and prepared to venture out, there was a dose of chilling reality that awaited.

That little bit of fluffy snow that had fallen Thursday night -- coupled with a hard overnight freeze -- accentuated its arrival with a frosty warning on many windshields.

The worse news is that cold temperatures are likely to linger through next week, while the first real snow of the season is expected Saturday evening with around an inch of snow due by noon Sunday, weather forecasters say.

While we're talking about that four-letter word snow, here are some interesting snowfall statistics from the National Weather Service to ponder:

-- The average date of the first measurable snowfall in central Indiana is Nov. 19. So we're basically on schedule.

-- The earliest date of the first measurable snowfall is Oct. 18, 1989.

-- Conversely, the date of the last measurable snowfall is May 9, 1923.

-- The average date of the last measurable snowfall in central Indiana is March 30.

Overall, the weather has become more typical of January rather than the middle of November, the Weather Service reported.

The afternoon high Thursday at the Indianapolis airport was only 27 degrees -- the coldest daily maximum temperature for so early in the fall since it was also only 27 degrees on Nov. 4, 1991.

It also marks only the fourth time since weather records began being compiled in 1871 that a daily high of 27 degrees or lower was recorded by Nov. 13.

Typically the central Indiana area does not experience a high temperature of just 27 degrees until Dec. 10.

Meanwhile, the morning temperature dipped to 17 degrees Friday -- the coldest autumn morning for so early in the season since a figure of 15 degrees was recorded on Nov. 12, 1995.

And if you think this year has been unusually cold, remember that last year the temperature had fallen to 18 degrees on Nov. 13.

The National Weather Service says the normal high for the period Nov. 13-19 ranges from 54 to 51 degrees while the normal low is 36 to 34 degrees.

The record high for so early in the autumn is 22 degrees, while a record low of 10 degrees was recorded on Nov. 13, 1986.

Record-low readings are even colder for the Nov. 13-19 period with 18 degrees for a high set on Nov. 17, 1959 and minus 3 degrees for a low esstablished on Nov. 19, 1880.

That Nov. 19 date is the earliest below-zero reading recorded for the Indianapolis area since weather records began in 1871.

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  • High in the mid 80's here to today. Greetings from Tucson!

    -- Posted by NCgramma on Fri, Nov 14, 2014, at 3:13 PM
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