Area hit with 5 inches of heavy, wet snow
From staff, AP reports
The forecast called for 5 to 9 inches of snow Wednesday, as the area braced for its first significant snowfall of 2023. It turned out the forecasters were right — barely.
Neil Ainslie, the National Weather Service observer for Wells County, had a measurement of 5 inches of snow north of Bluffton. The snow was heavy and wet, which made it good for building a snowman or a snow fort. It also meant that when it was plowed off of the roads, it stayed put.
Asked via a text message of his crews had any problems clearing the street, Bluffton Street Commissioner Tim Simpson had a succinct answer: “Nope.”
Indeed, most area thoroughfares were passable by late afternoon. Temperatures in the mid-30s during the day kept the snow slushy and heavy, so blowing snow was not a problem.
All three public school systems in Wells County had eLearnng days Wednesday and many service industries and retail outlets were not open during the day.
The south-to-north movement of the storm hit northeast Indiana in mid-morning, producing the expected inch-an-hour snowfall that had been projected.
The original winter storm warning was put in effect until 8 p.m., but the snowfall began to taper off in mid-afternoon.
Just north of Indianapolis, power outages were reported due to heavy snow on the lines.
A mixture of light snow ad drizzle was the order of the day late Wednesday evening. The prospect of snow remains in the local forecast each day through the weekend.
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