Winter blows in with gale winds, snow

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County to adopt travel advisory levels

pdated to reflect a color-coded, three-level travel advisory system that has been implemented statewide.
Rachel Hanson, administrative assistant for the Boone County Emergency Management Agency, said the system will allow the public in all 92 Indiana counties to recognize a weather threat level.
While the Boone EMA advisory board adopted the levels in October 2010, the state EMA has asked that each county make the levels official.
The levels will be determined at a local level, Hanson said. “We’ll send that information to the state; it’ll be displayed on their website, and sent to the media via a press release.”
Sheriff Ken Campbell said that his office issues alerts through the Nixle system. “We continue to encourage people to sign up for that,” he said. The system is free; go to nixle.com to create an account.
As defined by the state Department of Homeland Security, the levels are:
n Advisory (yellow) — Routine travel or activities may be restricted in areas because of a hazardous situation. Citizens should use caution or avoid these areas. Schools and businesses may begin to implement their emergency action plans;
n Watch (orange) — Conditions are threatening to the safety of the public. Only essential travel is recommended (i.e., to and from work, emergency situations, etc.). Emergency action plans have been or should now be implemented by businesses, schools, government agencies and other organizations; and
n Warning (red) — Travel may be restricted to emergency personnel only. Citizens are directed to refrain from all travel, comply with necessary officials and disaster services forces in executing emergency operation plans, and comply with the directions of properly identified officers.
A warning can be issued only after the Boone County Commissioners declare a state of emergency, Hanson said.
The county has issued emergency warnings for winter storms, blizzards and restrictions on outside fires because of drought.

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Luke Davis, 11, of Zionsville, speeds down the hill on his snowboard Friday, Dec. 21, at Mulberry Fields park in Zionsville. Photo by Andrea Cline

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December 22, 2012

Winter blows in with gale winds, snow

By Rod Rose Assistant Managing Editor The Lebanon Reporter Sat Dec 22, 2012, 11:52 AM EST

Boone County — Dozens of drivers were caught unprepared for the first significant snow storm of the 2012-13 season, with gale-force winds blowing snow — and in some cases salt from plow trucks — sideways Thursday night through Friday morning.

Winter arrived at 6:12 a.m. Friday, the earliest start of the season since 1896, according to The Old Farmer’s Almanac.

Lebanon received 2 inches of snow, according to the Indiana State Climate Office. Much of it was piled into drifts, with rural areas receiving the worst of the impact.

From 8 p.m. Thursday to 2 p.m. Friday, police agencies covered six crashes involving personal injury; 32 property damage accidents, and 126 slide-offs. Between 9 p.m. Thursday and 6 a.m. Friday, police agencies responded to 32 traffic accidents and 45 vehicles that slid off icy roads, Boone County Sheriff’s Office Cpl. Chris Burcham said.

White-out conditions created by high wind and blowing snow contributed to many of the incidents, Burcham said.

“We had right around 10 reported to us,” Lebanon Police Lt. Brent Wheat said Friday afternoon. “It was about a typical first snowfall.” Other slide-offs likely went unreported because there was no damage and drivers were able to extricate themselves, Wheat said.

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Winter blows in with gale winds, snow

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