Parts of southern Indiana hit with heavy snow
JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (AP) - Parts of southern Indiana ground to a halt Thursday after as much as 10 inches of fresh snow fell and emergency managers and law enforcement agencies urged motorists to stay off the roads.
Crawford, Harrison and Floyd counties along the Ohio River all issued travel warnings, the most severe travel status, advising motorists to refrain from all travel. Thirteen other counties in the region, including Clark, issued travel advisories suggesting only essential travel.
"Everyone should avoid travel if possible and park off the street to allow plows to remove snow," said Mayor Mike Moore of Jeffersonville, just north of Louisville, Kentucky.
Indiana State Police say they handled more than 550 calls during a 31-hour period ending at 7 a.m. Thursday. They included 160 crashes, with one fatality and 32 others involving injuries, and 175 slide-offs.
The National Weather Service had an unofficial report of 10.5 inches of snow having fallen in New Salisbury in Harrison County by late Thursday morning. It said 8-12 inches of snow fell in a band along the Ohio River, including southern Indiana, and 5-9 inches fell farther north. In southwestern Indiana, Evansville, Rockport and Mount Vernon all reported 8 inches of fresh snow.
Federal courts in New Albany and Evansville were among the government offices that remained closed for the day. Many schools in the region also remained closed for the day, as did several college campuses, including those of Indiana University-Southeast in New Albany, the University of Evansville and the University of Southern Indiana in Evansville. The Toyota vehicle assembly plant in Princeton cancelled its second shift.
Jeffersonville opened a snow hotline again for residents to call if they needed a ride somewhere, such as to a pharmacy to pick up a prescription.
Indiana American Water issued a boil water advisory affecting about 300 customers in New Albany after a valve blew off a 12-inch water main Wednesday night.