• Interactive radar | Meteorologist Drew Narsutis on Facebook Live on Friday afternoon
• Friday night forecast: Snow moves out Friday night, brisk Saturday before next warmup begins

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A snowstorm on Friday afternoon hit central Indiana, leaving motorists with difficult travel conditions.

Reports showed from 2.7 to 5.1 inches of snow fell at points in the Indianapolis metropolitan area, Storm Track 8 reported Friday night.

Indianapolis and Marion County on Friday night were under a travel advisory. The lowest level of local travel advisory means that routine travel or activities may be restricted in areas because of a hazardous situation, and people should use caution or avoid those areas. All but two counties surrounding Indianapolis — Boone and Hendricks — also were under travel advisories on Friday night.

The Indiana Department of Homeland Security on Friday night reports Johnson County, south of Indianapolis, had upgraded to a travel watch, meaning only essential travel, such as to and from work or in emergency situations, is recommended. Schools and businesses are recommended to go to emergency plans during a travel watch.

In other parts of Indiana on Friday night, travel watches were issued for these counties: Bartholomew (Columbus is the county seat), Brown (Nashville), Daviess (Washington), Dearborn (Lawrenceburg), Delaware (Muncie), Franklin (Brookville), Henry (New Castle), Jay (Portland), Knox (Vincennes), Martin (Shoals), Monroe (Bloomington), Owen (Spencer), and Ripley (Versailles).

These counties were under travel advisories at 10:35 p.m. Friday: Blackford, Clark, Clay, Decatur, Grant, Greene, Hamilton, Hancock, Jennings, Lawrence, Madison, Marion, Morgan, Ohio, Orange, Parke, Putnam, Randolph, Rush, Shelby, Sullivan, Switzerland, Tippecanoe, Union, Vermillion, Wabash, Wayne and Whitley.

At 6:12 p.m. Friday, Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department reported it’d handled 206 crash reports and 48 slide-off reports since the midafternoon.

“Officers are working hard to get to all reported crashes. As an alternative, those involved in crashes may consider exchanging drivers license, vehicle registration, and insurance information,” IMPD added in a post on the X platform at 6:46 p.m. Friday.

Indiana State Police reported that, by 6:34 p.m. Friday, troopers had responded to 111 crashes since 3 p.m. on Indianapolis-area interstates.

Indianapolis Department of Public Works announced Friday afternoon that it would extend the shift of its road crews through 11 p.m. Friday. They’d began working on the streets at 10 a.m. Friday.

A news release issued Friday afternoon from Public Works said, “Forecasts have varied regarding the amount of snow and exact timing. Right now, officials with Indy DPW are expecting the heaviest snow to be between 2-5 p.m. with the potential for refreezing overnight. Total accumulations could be between 2-3 inches of snowfall, though there is a possibility for higher totals.”

Temperatures remained below freezing, 32 degrees, on Friday night in Indianapolis.

Below is previous coverage from Storm Track 8.

WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY

The winter weather advisory is in place for much of central Indiana until 9 p.m. The snow may make for some slick conditions around the evening rush hour. Many spots in central Indiana will see accumulations around 1 to 3 inches. Some locations a little closer to the I-70 corridor may see around 4 inches of snow.

TONIGHT: The snow comes to an end around 9 p.m. Skies begin to clear later tonight with temperatures taking a tumble. Lows fall into the teens overnight. Winds begin to pick up overnight and we may see them gust up to 20 miles per hour.

THIS WEEKEND

It’s going to be chilly Saturday but we will see lots of sunshine. Temperatures start out in the teens. Winds may gust near 20 miles per hour. That brings wind chill values into the single digits early Saturday morning. It will be sunny and dry Saturday but it stays chilly. Temperatures climb only into the middle and upper 20s for the afternoon Saturday.

Sunday will start out chilly but it will be dry. Look for lots of sunshine for the afternoon Sunday. It’s going to be breezy once again with winds gusting at times near 20 to 30 miles per hour. Highs climb into the lower 40s which is actually right around normal for this time of the year.

NEXT WEEK

Warmer temperatures arrive for next week. Look for dry conditions with lots of sunshine for Monday. Highs climb close to 50 for the afternoon.

Look for partly cloudy skies for the middle part of the week. Highs climb into the middle and upper 50s on Wednesday.

News 8’s Gregg Montgomery contributed to this story.