Indianapolis' winter storm plan: Plowing, shelters, updated forecast

Snow is not the main headline of the oncoming winter storm. It's the cold.

The depth and duration of the bitterly cold wind chills expected Thursday night into Friday are unusual for central Indiana, meteorologists warned in a press briefing Wednesday evening. Indianapolis officials are extending warming station hours, relaxing homeless shelter guidelines and urging residents to avoid travel if possible, as the "flash freeze" Thursday night will likely make for icy, hazardous road conditions.

More:Forecasters warn of 'flash freeze,' winter storm warning issued for central Indiana

Here's everything to know about the city's winter storm preparation.

These two warming shelters will be available 24 hours in Indianapolis

Two shelters are available 24 hours for those who are unhoused and need a place to weather the storm: the Wheeler Mission Center for Men at 520 East Market Street, and the Wheeler Mission Center for Women and Children at 3208 East Michigan Street.

Both shelters have relaxed their guidelines to allow access to more people through Sunday, said Lauren Rodriguez, deputy mayor for public health and safety.

For city residents whose homes have lost heat or power, the parks and recreation department has extended the hours for three of its warming stations, which would typically be closed for the holiday weekend.

The Washington Park Family Center at 3130 East 30th Street will be open from 4 p.m. Thursday through 8 a.m. Sunday, and will have cots and supplies for those who need to stay overnight, Director Phyllis Boyd said.

The Garfield Park Burrello Family Center at 2345 Pagoda Drive and the Thatcher Park Family Center at 4649 West Vermont Street will be open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Friday and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday.

Updated weather forecast for Indiana predicts bitter cold and unusually freezing wind chills

This storm will be defined by wind and bitter cold, producing wind chills Indiana hasn't seen since 2014, said Sam Lashley, warning coordination meteorologist for the Indianapolis National Weather Service.

"This is not going to be your typical winter storm that we're used to here in Central Indiana," Lashley said.

It will rain most of the day Thursday, then the cold front is expected to arrive during rush hour, between 4 and 7 p.m. At that point, there will be a "flash freeze": temperatures will drop suddenly and drastically, by about 20 to 30 degrees. Rain will turn to snow, and wet roads may turn icy.

The snow might end early Friday morning, but wind gusts will persist all day Friday and into Saturday. In Indianapolis, wind gusts may reach 40 mph by late Thursday night, nearly 50 mph during the day Friday, and start to recede into the 30s on Saturday. This will produce wind chills of about negative 25 degrees all day Friday in Indianapolis, and as low as negative 30 degrees in outlying areas like Kokomo.

A typical winter only sees about 3 to 4 hours of a wind chill that low, Lashley said.

"We don't see these wind chills for this long very often, he said.

The amount of snow is not the main worry. Indianapolis is likely to get just 2 to 3 inches, Lashley said. It's the wind constantly blowing snow around, hampering visibility, that is cause for concern.

When will plow truck drivers be out in Indianapolis?

Rain throughout the day Thursday will largely prevent the public works department from pre-treating city roads.

Nonetheless, 100 crew members will hit the roads in 76 trucks beginning at 11 a.m. Thursday. Depending on the conditions, they hope to start salting around 3 to 4 p.m., public works director Brandon Herget said. They'll stay on 12-hour shifts through Monday.

More:When will my road be plowed in Indianapolis?

The wind makes plowing and shoveling trickier, as the snow will just blow back into the roads.

Residents can view treating and plowing progress at the department's Snow Force Viewer at maps.indy.gov/IndySnowForceViewer beginning at 11 a.m. Thursday.

If residents see a downed tree limb that makes a road impassable, they should call the Mayor's Action Center at 317-327-4622 and dial option 2 for public works dispatch.

The dangerously cold temperatures on Friday will prevent public works crews from safely picking up trash on Friday. Residents impacted by this will be able to get double pick-up service on Friday, Dec. 30.

INDOT will have nearly 1,000 trucks out treating and plowing Thursday afternoon through the weekend to try to keep the highways "passable," but with rain making pre-treatment difficult, the agency says there are likely going to be slick spots and areas where the snow sticks to pavement.

Kayla Dwyer is a transportation reporter at IndyStar. Contact her at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter @kayla_dwyer17. 

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Snow forecast, plowing, shelters: here's Indianapolis' storm plan