With snow sweeping into the Fort Wayne area just in time for afternoon rush hour, many drivers found themselves sliding off the road. But state police say the number of serious crashes Friday was far less than Thursday.
Cpl. Tim Dolby of the Indiana State Police said local troopers responded to nine crashes throughout the day – seven in Huntington County and two in Allen County. Compare those numbers to Thursday when troopers dealt with 37 crashes in the region. One was fatal, and three caused extended lane closures on Interstate 69.
As flakes continued to fall Friday night, Dolby said state highway crews were plowing and salting the slick, snow-covered roads.
In Fort Wayne, police dispatchers received 60 to 70 crash reports between about 3 and 9 p.m. Friday – considerably more than usual.
Evan Bentley, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Syracuse, said the storm system could dump 3 to 6 inches in and around Fort Wayne. The snow is predicted to stop before sunrise today, he said.
Allen County park officials are hoping for enough snow for good cross-country skiing on the trails in Fox Island and Metea parks. Visitors can rent skis at both parks when 4 inches of snow has accumulated, said Fox Island’s park and education manager, Ron Zartman.“I don’t expect the conditions to be perfect conditions,” he said. “It’ll probably be a little sloppy, at least Sunday.”
Zartman’s counterpart at Metea, Bob Dispenza, said the sledding hill there is open. Not many people were sledding Friday, but Dispenza expected that to change after school was out for the weekend.
Bentley said today is expected to be dry with light winds, highs in the low 20s and, by the afternoon, mostly sunny skies. He said temperatures may reach the upper 30s on Sunday, with a chance of rain in the evening.
