Drifting snow affects Benton County drivers

FOWLER, Ind. (WLFI) - Blowing and drifting snow became hard to navigate for drivers in Benton County Friday.

"We've been lucky this winter with all the warm weather we've had, so this is a shock to the system," said Cindy Estes, of Fowler.

Estes was lucky to only have a few inches on her sidewalk, though on the side of her home, drifts were considerably higher.

On the roads, drifting became more dangerous, as Benton County Sheriff's Deputy Joe Salla saw first hand.

"Even though the county highway's been by, and opened it up, it just drifts back that much quicker," Salla said.

Deputy Salla received his wake-up call at 5:45 a.m. Friday, for a slide-off just south of the town of Talbot, where drifts were waist deep. He was then called to several other slide-offs throughout the morning.

"This used to be all prairie land out here," Salla said. "So the wind, when it blows, there's no wind breakage. You can see, there's very little wind break in Benton County.

Salla said that open land, combined with ditches on the sides of the roads that aren't very deep, mean no matter how many times the plows come through, snow will continue to build up on the roads as long as the wind blows. Although at least one Benton County local isn't betting that wind will last very long.

"I've lived her all my life, so every 15 minutes the weather changes," Estes said.

Sheriff Butch Pritchett reminds drivers that the best way to stay out of the ditch is to reduce your speed. He also asks drivers to keep plenty of space between the car in front of you, and give yourself extra time to stop.