NWS: Winter Storm and Deep Freeze in Indiana

STATEWIDE — Indiana is under a Winter Storm Warning.

Greg Melo, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Indianapolis, spoke in a winter weather briefing Friday afternoon. He now has high confidence that much of the region will see at least five inches of snow, with the heaviest totals likely hitting south of the I-70 corridor.

The snow is expected to start in the southwest on Saturday afternoon before spreading across the state by Saturday night. Melo warns that the peak intensity will likely occur Sunday morning.

“This is really when we’re expecting our greatest impacts across the area,” Melo said. “We’ll start to see moderate to heavy snowfall, especially towards southern portions of Central Indiana.

While the snow should taper off Sunday evening, blowing and drifting remains a threat.

Beyond the snow, Indiana is staring down a brutal, long-term stretch of arctic air. Wind chills are expected to stay below zero for most of next week.

“It seems very likely that road treatment is not going to be very effective with this system, so it’ll be quite hard to clear out the roads as quickly as they normally do,” Melo cautioned.

People in Indiana are urged to bundle up in layers and limit time outdoors.