The National Weather Service has upped the chances of severe weather in Johnson County Wednesday.
Johnson County, along with all of Indiana, is now under an enhanced risk for severe storms Wednesday, an upgrade from the slight risk issued on Tuesday. An enhanced risk is fourth-highest level on the National Weather Service’s severe weather risk scale, and means more widespread and/or persistent severe storms are possible.
A strong storm system was expected to showers and thunderstorms to central Indiana starting late Tuesday night through Wednesday. The storms could potentially come in multiple rounds, according to the Indianapolis office of the NWS.
The storms on Wednesday have a better chance of becoming severe, occurring anytime between the early morning and the evening hours, meteorologists say. Damaging winds, hail and tornadoes are all possible.
It was still unknown Tuesday afternoon as to how the storms could evolve or how many rounds there will be. Meteorologists encourage people to keep up with forecast updates and to have multiple ways to get warnings.
The Johnson County Incident Management Team announced on Facebook, officials are suspending clean-up operations in Whiteland on Wednesday because of the expected severe weather.
Cleanup continues
With storms on the way, volunteers, residents and neighbors worked to clean up the damage in Whiteland from this weekend’s EF-3 tornado under overcast skies and rain.
A total of 179 homes in the town were impacted by the storm, officials said Monday. Community members were out in force Tuesday continuing to clean up the debris, gathering donations and helping their neighbors.
The Clark-Pleasant Schools Administration Building, 50 Center St., Whiteland, is now the town’s central Family Assistance Center, officials said. This is where people can drop off donations, and it will serve as the central hub for volunteers. Anyone who wants to volunteer with cleanup can come to that building to learn how they can help.
Officials have also established a helpline for residents who need help or want to help people impacted by the storm. For the helpline, people can call or text 317-671-6521 or email [email protected].
Town officials have also declared a disaster and set a curfew for the entire town from 8 p.m. to 7 a.m. through April 9. The order exempts travel for work, school, religious activities, the media, medical care, people fleeing emergencies, the homeless, emergency responders, law enforcement and those working on public utilities or governmental tasks. Willful violations can be enforced by civil violation by the town, as well as any criminal penalties that accompany trespass, theft, conversion or any violation of the Indiana Criminal Code, town officials said.
A boil water advisory remains in effect for Whiteland indefinitely, due to a power outage at the water tower over the weekend and multiple leaks in water mains. Residents should boil their water for at least five minutes before consuming it. The town is working with Indiana American Water to continue testing the water, and when the water is safe, officials will lift the order.
Lack of power continues to be an issue for some areas, including the Spring Hill subdivision, which is served by Bargersville Utilities.
Homes located between Meadowlark Drive and Clearwater Boulevard were expected to have power restored sometime Tuesday, according to a Bargersville Utilities update provided by the town of Whiteland. However, a large section of the neighborhood — roughly from Meadowlark Drive to north of Colony Drive — are not expected to have power restored for 2-to-3 days, officials posted on Facebook.
Further south, crews were also working to fix downed lines along the southbound lanes of U.S. 31 between Whiteland and Franklin. The southbound lanes of U.S. 31 from around Tracy Road to Christian Boulevard/Oakville Boulevard will continue to be closed as this work continues.
For Duke Energy customers, power was restored to most areas of the county Monday evening. It has taken a little longer to restore power to some customers in rural Bargersville. That’s because, in one area of State Road 135 south of State Road 144, 25 poles were broken by the EF-0 tornado that struck rural Union Township, said Angeline Protegere, a Duke Energy spokesperson.
Repairs in this area were completed around 12:25 a.m. Tuesday morning by a “small army” of more than 60 employees doing intensive work as safely and quickly as possible. Residents may notice work continuing in the area, but these are for repairs that are not currently causing outages, she said.
South of Bargersville, State Road 135 between County Road 100 North and County Road 250 North was expected to potentially remain closed through Thursday, according to the Indiana Department of Transportation.
Officials issue reminders
The Johnson County Emergency Management Agency is encouraging residents to be prepared for more storms, reminding them about the county’s outdoor storm siren policy. The policy sets the guidelines for when the county’s storm sirens will be activated.
Outdoor sirens will only sound when a tornado warning has been issued by the National Weather Service or when a trained storm spotter or public safety officer sees a funnel cloud or tornado. All sirens will be activated if a tornado warning is issued, even if it is only for a specific area of the county, according to the county’s siren policy.
The outdoor sirens are only intended to warn people who are outdoors and is not intended to warn residents inside their home, the policy says. An all-clear siren will not be sounded once a storm passes.
The best way for people to receive watches, warnings and emergency messages is through a NOAA All-Hazards Weather Radio. Emergency management officials recommend every household have a weather radio as a way to receive important information even if power and internet are out.
Emergency management officials also recommend that everyone has another way to receive weather alerts such as cell phone weather alerts.
If there is a tornado, people should quickly move to their basement and bring an emergency supply kit. If people don’t have a basement, they should move to an interior room with no windows, according to the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.
Top floor rooms, exterior rooms and rooms with windows do not protect people from debris. Being outside during a tornado is also not safe, the agency says.
Whiteland Fire Chief Eric Funkhouser encourages residents to be very careful, especially in areas with damage.
“With the storms that are coming in the next couple of days, everybody (needs) to be very careful and to pay attention and to be weather aware,” Funkhouser said. “… You just need to be very careful and keep everybody safe.”
