Muncie, Delaware County brace for big snow and cold weather forecast

David Penticuff, Muncie Star Press

February 2, 2022 at 1:45 PM·4 min read

MUNCIE, Ind. — Shadow or not, groundhogs who failed to retreat into their burrows Wednesday made a mistake.

A much anticipated winter storm, so far the only winter storm of the season in or near Muncie, began arriving on Groundhog Day afternoon as a cold steady rain set to turn to snow. Once started, the snow wasn't expected to stop until Thursday night, leaving 7 to 10 inches behind.

Rain - plenty of rain - fell in Muncie on Wednesday, Feb. 2, 2022, in advance of the predicted 10 inches of snow, preventing road crews from being able to pre-treat roads.

Aaron Updike, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Indianapolis, said the snow was likely to be of a more compact nature than originally thought, hence a lowering of expected inches for the Muncie area from a 14-inch maximum snowfall forecasted Tuesday.

But 10 inches is still a very significant event, Updike said, with the highest rate of snowfall expected to come late Thursday morning and early afternoon. The snow will be blowing and drifting, creating conditions expected to make travel nearly impossible. Gusts were expected to reach 30 miles per hour Wednesday night and 33 mph on Thursday.

Gov. Holcomb press co: What Gov. Eric Holcomb, other state officials said during winter storm press conference

Updike said the the ground has gotten warm in recent days, meaning it might take a little while for roadways to get icy and slick Wednesday evening. But he warned that they would.

Local weather forecast after storm ends

On the heels of the storm, extremely cold air is expected to move in Friday with forecasted lows overnight Friday of 2 degrees below zero and wind chill temperatures in the minus-10 range, he said.

Local officials activated the Delaware County Emergency Operations Center downtown on Wednesday to help deal with the storm. Delaware Sheriff Tony Skinner said officials from the city and county got together Wednesday morning to go over the situation.

Skinner said his department is fully staffed for all shifts during the storm.

The county highway department and the Muncie Street department each planned to deploy 13 plows on streets and roads during the storm.

Adam Leach, city engineer and street superintendent, said his plow crews were ready Wednesday afternoon. They anticipated laying down salt on the streets before plowing Wednesday night.

Leach said he has asked the Muncie Sanitary District to use their plows to work in city neighborhoods come Thursday morning as the snow is expected to continue to fall.

Free to read: Doctors' offices closing, schools on e-learning Wednesday ahead of winter storm

Kyle Johnson, chief information officer for Delaware County, said that the road crews would not be able tp pre-treat road surfaces because the rainfall leading into the snow would wash the chemicals away.

Mallory Duncan, strategic communications director with the Indiana department of transportation, said INDOT has 140 plows on the state highways and interstaters in East Central Indiana and will remain on the roads continuously in the storm, working in 12-hour shifts until noon Friday.

Motorists can help the situation, she said, by simply staying off the roads during the storm unless a trip is absolutely necessary.

In Delaware County, officials went ahead and moved the travel status in the county to an advisory level Wednesday morning in anticipation of the snow, Johnson said.

Delaware County is under an "Advisory" Travel Level. This means road conditions will deteriorate in the near future and motorists should plan accordingly. Expect the Travel Advisory Level to upgrade to a "Watch" as snow begins and restrictions may be placed on travel. pic.twitter.com/LRrz3s4O9o
— Delaware County Emergency Management (@DelawareCoEM) February 2, 2022

If driving is necessary, the Operations Center provides the following tips:

Fill a vehicle’s gasoline tank before a winter storm because the fuel will have a lower chance of freezing.
Create an emergency preparedness kit for each vehicle.
Obey speed limits. If driving significantly below the speed limit, turn on the vehicle's hazard lights.
Avoid using cell phones and never text while driving.
If stranded, do not exit the vehicle to find help unless it’s within 100 yards.
Display a bright piece of clothing to signal for help if stranded.
Floor mats can be used for extra insulation.
To prevent carbon monoxide poisoning, never run a vehicle stuck in the snow more than 10 minutes each hour, and make sure the tailpipe is not blocked.

He advised the public to follow the Facebook page for the Delaware County Emergency Operations Center to keep current with the situation during the storm.

David Penticuff is the local government reporter at the Star Press. Contact him at dpenticuff@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Indiana winter storm: 10 inches of snow in forecast by storms end

Associated Press
Trump signs a bill funding the government for 6 months, avoiding a shutdown
President Donald Trump has signed into law legislation funding the government through the end of September, ending the threat of a partial government shutdown and capping off a struggle in Congress that deeply divided Democrats. Harrison Fields, White House principal deputy press secretary, said in a post on X that Trump signed the continuing resolution Saturday. The bill largely keeps government funding at levels set during Joe Biden's presidency, though with changes.
AFP
Oil spill in Ecuador river brings emergency declaration
An oil spill in northwestern Ecuador has turned a river black, prompting authorities to declare an environmental emergency amid "unprecedented" damage and to order residents to ration drinking water, officials said.The spill, believed caused when a landslide ruptured a major oil pipeline, has turned waters black in a section of the Esmeraldas River, in the province of the same name.
Associated Press
Trump signs order to cut staff at Voice of America and other US-funded media organizations
President Donald Trump's administration on Saturday began making deep cuts to Voice of America and other government-run, pro-democracy programming as the president continued his campaign to restructure government without congressional approval. On Friday night, shortly after Congress passed its latest funding bill, Trump directed his administration to reduce the functions of several agencies to the minimum required by law. On Saturday morning, Kari Lake, the failed Arizona gubernatorial and U.S. Senate candidate whom Trump named a senior advisor to the agency, posted on X that employees should check their email.
Associated Press
Canada to review the purchase of F-35 fighter planes in light of Trump trade war
New Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has asked his defense minister to review the purchase of America’s F-35 fighter jet to see if there are other options “given the changing environment," a spokesman for the minister said Saturday. Laurent de Casanove, Defense Minister Bill Blair’s press secretary, said the contract to purchase U.S. military contractor Lockheed Martin's F-35 currently remains in place and Canada has made a legal commitment of funds for the first 16 aircraft. Carney, who was sworn in on Friday, has asked Blair to work with the military “to determine if the F-35 contract, as it stands, is the best investment for Canada, and if there are other options that could better meet Canada’s needs," he said.
USA TODAY
Judge temporarily blocks Trump's anticipated use of 1798 Alien Enemies Act for deportations
A judge temporarily blocked President Donald Trump from using a 1798 law to toughen immigration enforcement because 5 Venezuelans fear deportation.
Associated Press
Millions of Cubans remain without power after substation failure left the island in the dark
Millions of people in Cuba remained without power Saturday after a failure of the nation’s electric grid left the island in the dark the previous night. The massive blackout is the fourth in the last six months as a severe economic crisis plagues the Caribbean country. The Ministry of Energy and Mines, in a statement on social media, attributed the latest outage to a failure at a substation in the suburbs of Havana, the capital.
CNN
Tens of thousands rally in massive anti-corruption protest against Serbian government
Student protests have drawn huge crowds and struck a chord among the citizens who are disillusioned with politicians and have lost faith in Serbia’s state institutions.
AFP
France launches manslaughter probe against TotalEnergies over Mozambique attack
French prosecutors said Saturday they had opened a manslaughter investigation against energy giant TotalEnergies following a bloody 2021 jihadist attack in Mozambique."TotalEnergies will cooperate fully with this investigation," the company said on Saturday.
Reuters
Telegram's Durov allowed to leave France amid probe, AFP reports
French authorities have allowed Pavel Durov, the Russian-born founder and CEO of Telegram, to leave France temporarily in a loosening of his obligations under a probe into criminal activities on the messaging app, the French news agency AFP reported on Saturday. Durov was arrested at an airport near Paris last August and subsequently placed under formal investigation, with a ban on leaving France.
Associated Press
California man wins $50 million in lawsuit over burns from Starbucks tea
A delivery driver has won $50 million in a lawsuit after being seriously burned when a Starbucks drink spilled in his lap at a California drive-through, court records show. A Los Angeles County jury found Friday for Michael Garcia, who underwent skin grafts and other procedures on his genitals after a venti-sized tea drink spilled instants after he collected it on Feb. 8, 2020. Garcia's negligence lawsuit blamed his injuries on Starbucks, saying that an employee didn't wedge the scalding-hot tea firmly enough into a takeout tray.
AFP
Amid tensions, Canada says reviewing purchase of US jets
Canada is reviewing a major purchase of US-made F-35 combat planes amid serious tensions with the Trump administration, a spokesperson for the Canadian defense ministry told AFP on Saturday.In one of his first official acts since taking office Friday, Prime Minister Mark Carney has asked the defense ministry "to determine if the F-35 contract, as it stands, is the best investment for Canada, and if there are other options that could better meet Canada's needs," according to an email from Laurent
Politico
Judge blocks Trump from deporting 5 Venezuelans in anticipation of administration invoking wartime law
U.S. District Judge James Boasberg issued the urgent ruling Saturday morning, citing “exigent circumstances.”
Associated Press
Trump's pick for hostage negotiations envoy withdraws nomination but will continue on hostage issues
Adam Boehler, President Donald Trump’s choice to become special envoy for hostage affairs, has withdrawn his nomination in order to avoid a requirement that he divest from his investment business. Boehler, whose efforts were key in the release of Marc Fogel, an American history teacher who was deemed wrongfully detained by Russia, will still work for the Trump administration focusing on hostage negotiations despite withdrawing his nomination Friday, according to a senior White House official who was not authorized to speak publicly.
CNN
Inside and outside the Senate, Democrats begin to lose faith in Schumer
Democrats have long found the flip phone Chuck Schumer still insists on using as an endearing quirk that illustrates how committed he is to his way of talking to all sorts of allies, all the time.
AFP
Syrians commemorate uprising anniversary for first time since Assad's fall
Syrians gathered on Saturday to commemorate the 14th anniversary of their uprising with a public demonstration in Damascus for the first time since president Bashar al-Assad was toppled.Ahmed al-Sharaa, who headed the Islamist group Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) which spearheaded the lightning offensive that toppled on December 8, has since been named interim president.
AFP
Blast in Syria coastal city kills three: state media
A blast in the Syrian coastal city of Latakia killed at least three people on Saturday, state media reported, with a war monitor saying it was triggered by unexploded ordnance.The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor later described the blast as an "accident" resulting from a resident's attempt to dismantle unexploded ordnance in the building.
CNN
An even more dangerous tornado threat is imminent in the South after a deadly tornado outbreak Friday night
A powerful storm system roared across the Midwest and South Friday night, unleashing a series of tornadoes that carved paths of destruction and left at least three dead in Missouri.
CNN
Zelensky says ‘no encirclement’ of Ukrainian troops in Russia’s Kursk region, accusing Putin of lying
President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukrainian troops have not been encircled by Russian forces in Kursk region, accusing Russian leader Vladimir Putin of “lying” about the situation on the ground.
Associated Press
An airstrike in Myanmar kills nearly 30 people, an opposition group says
An airstrike by Myanmar’s military on a central village under the control of resistance forces has killed at least 27 civilians and injured 30 others, an opposition group and Myanmar’s online media said Saturday. The attack occurred Friday at 3 p.m. in Let Pan Hla village in Singu township, about 65 kilometers (40 miles) north of Mandalay, the country’s second-largest city, a spokesperson for the Mandalay People’s Defense Force said. Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army seized power from the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb. 1, 2021, triggering widespread popular opposition.
CNN
Nine killed in Israeli attack in northern Gaza, officials say, in deadliest strike since ceasefire began
At least nine charity workers have been killed and several others injured in an Israeli strike in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza, the enclave’s Government Media Office said Saturday, making it the deadliest incident since the ceasefire went into effect in January.

Local weather forecast after storm ends

Latest Stories