SIDNEY — The large winter storm forecasted for Thursday and Friday is covering Shelby County with ice and snow and accompanying wind. As of Thursday afternoon, Shelby County officials reported no major incidents due to the storm.
The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a winter storm warning for Shelby County and surrounding areas starting 1 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 2 and ending 7 a.m. Friday, Feb. 4.
Sidney Police Chief Will Balling said by email Thursday morning, “The street department was out last night working really hard, and thanks to their hard work and citizens taking extra caution this morning, I am happy to report that we have not had any accidents so far due to the weather.”
Public Works Director Jon Crusey also said Thursday morning by email, “Overnight we did not have any issues. Ice and snow accumulation is less that what was projected. Our crews were out all night, and will be out continually until the snow subsides and we finish clearing snow.”
In the county, Shelby County Engineer Bob Guey said much of the same, that they hadn’t seen any issues overnight or during the early part of the day due to the weather. He was surprised there wasn’t as much snow accumulation by Thursday morning as was expected.
“Right now there are very, very little issues. Obviously, the roads are snow-covered and slick, but they are very passable, if (drivers) just slow down a little bit,” Guey said early Thursday. “We haven’t had any problems yet, knock on wood.”
“We had crews out pretty much all night,” he continued. “It got real slick and icy around 10:30-11 o’clock last (Wednesday) night, but no snow came, and then it kind of warmed up a little bit, and then it started to drop back down and the snow came. I guess we will see what the rest of the day brings.”
The NWS forecasts patchy blowing snow may be heavy at times Thursday, with snow mainly before 2 a.m. Friday morning, but may continue until 9 a.m. On Thursday, blustery north wind is predicted at 21 to 23 mph, with gusts as high as 36 mph. The total daytime snow accumulation possible on Thursday is 3 to 7 inches, with an additional 1 to 2 inches possible during the evening, and less than a half inch on Friday. NWS predicts wind chill values on Friday as low at -1 degree, and -9 degrees Friday night. Although NWS calls for 100% chance of precipitation throughout Thursday, it only forecasts a 20% chance on Friday.
A winter storm warning is also an indication that significant sleet or ice accumulations are possible.
In total, Guey said, the county has 13 snow plows, conducting 13 routes throughout Shelby County, covering 385 miles. He said they had a minimum crew out all night and then brought everyone in to work at 4 a.m. to get all plows out Thursday morning.
“We will probably re-evaluate early (Thursday) afternoon, send some people home to get some rest and keep a minimal crew out on the roads, and then bring them back in to get them out on the roads tonight,” Guey said.
The National Weather Service recommends monitoring the latest forecasts and using caution when travelling on the roadways.
To get the latest detailed forecast, visit https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=40.2869&lon=-84.1542#.XEDpwdJKi00.
