Another round of heavy snow led to more traffic woes in Southern Indiana on Monday.
A combination of below-freezing temperatures, gusty winds and steady snowfall that began Sunday night and continued through the day Monday led to what police described as the worst driving conditions this winter.
“We’ve had a bunch of slide-offs,” Indiana State Police Sgt. Jerry Goodin said. “I guess this is the fourth or fifth snow of the year, but this is by far the worst we’ve had in terms of slide-offs.”
No serious injuries were reported in Clark or Floyd counties as of Monday afternoon.
Mike Crowe, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Louisville, said that areas in Southern Indiana bordering the Ohio River saw 5 to 7 inches of snow Monday.
The counties bordering Clark and Floyd to the north saw as much as 10 inches of snow in some locations.
Clark County Sheriff Danny Rodden said officers worked about nine or 10 slide-offs Monday morning. A salt truck flipped on its side at about 12:30 p.m. at Bethany Road near High Jackson Road in Charlestown.
Rodden said officers used four-wheel drive vehicles to drive to a couple of locations regular police cruisers were unable to reach.
Jeffersonville Fire Department Assistant Chief Tony Decker said there were a few accidents, including one on the Clark Memorial Bridge early Monday morning. None were serious.
Floyd County Sheriff Darrell Mills said his officers also worked a lot of slide-offs Monday, but there were no major accidents. Mills said the road conditions were the worst he has seen this winter.
“I think there were a lot of people that took the media information and stayed home,” Mills said Monday afternoon. “There are still some really bad roads. With the wind draft, the snow is blowing.
“Some of the secondary roads are still really hard to see.”
New Albany Police Department Capt. Keith Whitlow said they only had four accidents reported as of early Monday afternoon. One accident resulted in a minor injury accident. The low number of accidents is in contrast with a Jan. 8 snow storm in which NAPD worked 17 accidents.
“I think people get a little more adept at driving in inclement weather after they get some practice,” Whitlow said.
Ron Quakenbush, superintendent of the Floyd County Road Department, said the focus Monday was on keeping the main roads open and passable and that they would not start clearing subdivisions until today.
Quakenbush said crews are working 24 hours a day and have 30 people working in shifts. One issue is that the county ran out of salt Monday and was unable to get more until late Monday evening.
“[It] probably will [refreeze tonight], but there’s nothing I can do about it right now, because I’m out of salt,” Quakenbush said when asked if he was worried about overnight freezing on the roads.
Students also will be forced to make up another day of school later this year. Some school districts were scheduled to be off Monday for Presidents Day but had planned to use the day to make up for previous snow days.
Greater Clark County Schools and Clarksville Community Schools were scheduled for a make-up day but closed for snow. West Clark Community Schools was scheduled to be open but closed due to weather. Indiana University Southeast also closed for weather. New Albany-Floyd County School Corp. was scheduled to be closed for Presidents Day.
As of press deadline Monday evening, most area schools already announced plans to close today.
It has been an exciting winter for people who enjoy the snow, but not so much for others.
The unofficial snow total this season for Louisville was 19.7 inches as of 1 p.m., with totals likely a little higher in Southern Indiana, according to Crow. That total is 5.4 inches above what is normal at this point in the year, but Crow said it is still nowhere near being in the top 10 snowiest winters ever recorded.
Another inch or two was expected to fall by this afternoon, and then it should stop, Crow said.
Snow delays garbage pick-up
• Winter weather has again forced the delay of garbage collection by Southern Indiana Waste Systems, New Albany’s contracted waste hauler. The company announced Monday morning it would be on a one-day delayed schedule for the entire week. Monday's route is scheduled to be collected Tuesday; Tuesday’s route on Wednesday; Wednesday’s route on Thursday; Thursday’s route on Friday and Friday’s route on Saturday. For more information contact SIWS at 812-948-5356.
— Staff reports
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