INDIANAPOLIS — Heavy snow was falling at Indianapolis International Airport as the strongest winter storm of the season hit Indiana on Friday, but many travelers' minds were on sunnier weather in Miami.
"It'd be terrible if the Colts fans can't get there to support the team," said Marshall McFadden, a 27-year-old logistics broker from Indianapolis who was headed to Florida to watch the Indianapolis Colts take on the New Orleans Saints in the Super Bowl.
McFadden, sporting a Colts stocking cap, was one of several Miami-bound Colts fans who came to the airport as much as three hours early after seeing weather forecasts calling for up to 8 inches of snow.
The National Weather Service said central Indiana could have 4 to 8 inches of snow by Saturday, when blowing and drifting could become a problem. But some places — such as Alexandria, about 40 miles northeast of Indianapolis — already had 6 inches on the ground by 8 p.m. Friday. Indianapolis had more than 4 inches.
Weather service meteorologist Adam Baker said the storm hitting Indiana was part of the bigger one bearing down on the Mid-Atlantic and threatening to dump as much as 30 inches of snow on Washington, D.C.
In New Castle in eastern Indiana, officials were preparing for up to 10 inches of snow. Crews were blanketing the streets with a corn-based de-icing fluid to keep ice from building up under the snow.
"The main thing is to get on this before it gets ahead of us," said Bob York, a public works official supervising a crew spraying the material Friday afternoon.
Snow was falling at a rate of more than an inch an hour in some areas, especially northeast of Indianapolis, said National Weather Service meteorologist Crystal Pettet.
Pettet expected the wet, heavy snow to become fluffier as temperatures dropped overnight, making it more susceptible to drifts kicked up by winds gusting up to 35 mph Saturday.
On the roadways, state police had extra officers on patrol during Friday's evening rush hour to help motorists as slideoffs and minor accidents broke out.
"Pretty much, it's like bumper cars," Indiana State Police spokesman 1st Sgt. Dave Bursten said.
Two people were killed when the Jeep they were in slid into the path of a railroad utility truck about 3:30 p.m. on U.S. 35 between Muncie and Richmond in eastern Indiana, said Wayne County Chief Deputy Jeff Cappa.
At the Indianapolis airport, crews were busy de-icing planes but no major delays were reported.
"This is the one flight you don't want to miss," said 50-year-old Janice Malone of Westfield, wearing a Colts sweat shirt and coat and toting a purse modeled after Peyton Manning's jersey.
Most direct flights from Indianapolis to Miami were on time Friday, though some flights that pass through Philadelphia and Washington were canceled, forcing travelers to make other arrangements. Some were taking earlier flights.
Zionsville attorney Stan Pinegar, 45, was eager to reach his first Super Bowl with his 15-year-old son after his USAir flight through Philadelphia was canceled Thursday. He rebooked a flight on Southwest and came to the airport two hours early.
"I'm getting a little nervous, but we'll get there one way or another," he said. "We're going to do whatever it takes to get down there at this point."
Seth Thomas, a 33-year-old Indianapolis attorney, changed USAir flights twice Thursday ahead of the snowstorm, beating cancelations through Philadelphia and Washington before settling on a route through Charlotte, N.C. He showed up at the airport about three hours early.
USAir began canceling flights even before the storm to give passengers time to find other flights, said airline spokeswoman Valerie Wunder.
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