Snow storm making its way towards Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - A developing winter storm system is creeping into Central Indiana. This system brought white-out conditions to parts of South Dakota and steady snow to Iowa. A winter weather advisory is in effect for Central Indiana from 4:00 Thursday morning through 7:00 Friday morning.

The steadiest snow will fall during the morning and early afternoon hours of Thursday. Snowfall potential is 3-6" inches. There will be a few places with more and a few places with less. The best advice is to check with Forecast 8 several times over the next 24 hours and remember to send your snow totals to weather@wishtv.com .

Another round of arctic air will arrive behind the snow. Temperatures on Friday and into the weekend will only reach the teens to near 20 degrees. Forecast lows will be below zero.

The Department of Public Works has been tracking the storm over the past two days.

Road crews spent the day and evening getting their equipment ready and loading the trucks with salt.

DPW plans to have 75 trucks on the roads through the night.

DPW's Steve Pruitt has been watching the winter storm inch it's way towards Indianapolis.

From his office, Pruitt monitors national and local radars, bridge temperatures, pavement temperatures, and local forecasts.

Data that helps him develop a plan of action for the road crews.

"The first pass we will salt. The second pass we will put down a little less salt. Because as it comes down and you put your salt down and you push it away, you kind of wasting resources," said Pruitt.

DPW says they will have snow plow contractors on standby in case they require extra help.

Meanwhile, the Indiana Senate has decided not to meet on Thursday due to the forecasted weather. They will meet on Monday. But, the Indiana House is still planning to meet on Thursday.

This storm is expected to be the second major winter event of the season.

DPW crews are anxious to get ahead of the storm.

Last month, commuters found themselves sliding off area roads after just 1” of snow fell. DPW blamed the icy conditions on a refreezing of the roads. They say things will be different Thursday morning.

"The December 7th snow that came was a wet snow. So when it melted it automatically refroze to the pavement. This is a dry powdery snow so we won't have that much of a refreeze problem like we did with the first one," said Pruitt.

INDOT plans to have all 65 of its salt trucks out on the interstates through out the night as well.

INDOT encourages drivers to get an early jump on their commute.

State Police is asking the public to avoid contacting local, county, or state police dispatch centers with questions regarding road and weather conditions.

The dispatch centers are extremely busy during these times of inclement weather and having to answer road and weather related questions can delay officers from receiving emergency dispatch information.

To receive the latest road and weather updates, contact the Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) 24 hour Road and Weather information number at (800) 261-ROAD (7623) or visit the road and weather INDOT Web site .