SOUTH BEND — More than a foot of snow across much of northern Indiana, ice in the state's midsection and high winds made travel difficult Wednesday and left about 50,000 homes and businesses without electricity.
The storm, part of a massive system spanning more than 2,000 miles across the country, moved into the state Tuesday and closed most schools and many businesses. At least 17 counties declared weather emergencies urging residents not to travel unless necessary.
Authorities reported whiteout conditions and drifting in rural areas of the northern and central parts of the state.
Ryan Hartman, a Pepsi salesman who made a stop Wednesday at a Kmart in South Bend, said the main roads in the city weren't bad but the side roads were difficult.
"Once I got on the main roads it wasn't too bad, but I think I'll be heading home now," he said. "It looks like it's starting to get bad again."
The bulk of the power outages Wednesday morning were in the Terre Haute, Bloomington and Connersville areas, while the heaviest snowfall — between 10 and 15 inches — had fallen in northwestern Indiana.
Duke Energy spokeswoman Angeline Protogere said crews working to restore power were facing the obstacle of dealing with high winds that were lifting up power lines and increasing the chances of those lines failing.
She said the company had brought in extra crews from the Carolinas to help restore power and is mindful of the need to get power back on ahead of frigid temperatures moving in behind the storm.
"Unlike a summer thunderstorm where the winds come through and you know the outages you're facing, with an ice storm there's a slow buildup in the outages and with the wind there's the chance of more outages," she said.
The storm prompted the Indiana General Assembly to postpone its activities at the Statehouse in Indianapolis for a second straight day. Indianapolis Public Schools, the state's largest school district, canceled classes for a second day, as did Purdue and Indiana State universities.
Vigo County Emergency Management Director Dorene Hojnicki said about 30 people were staying Wednesday morning at Terre Haute North High School, where a shelter had been set up for those without power. She estimated the Terre Haute area had received about three-fourths of an inch of ice that coated surfaces, downing power lines and trees.
Brad Miller, transportation director for the Terre Haute bus agency, said officials simply decided running the routes on icy streets was too risky.
"Today was the situation with the roads being icy, and everything in the city is shut down and there's no place to go," he said.
Before heading out Tuesday night, South Bend's plow drivers gathered near a sign reading: "Plow Like a Champion" — a turn on the "Play Like a Champion Today" sign football players at Notre Dame touch on their way out onto the field before games.
Winds blowing steadily between 15 to 30 mph with gusts of 45 mph made it difficult to keep roads clear.
"Nights like tonight stink because you clear a street and you turn around and you can't even tell you did anything," Kevin Briney said as he drove his plow through downtown South Bend.
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