1997 Ford Probe

I own a 1997 Ford Probe that has 86,000 miles. Great shape. I have noticed in the recent past that after pulling up and stopping, the belt squeals for about 60 seconds until I build a good amount of speed, and then it stops. While the belt is squealing, the battery amp reader drops very low but then rises again when the squealing stops. This morning while driving to work, the squealing was present but then it stopped altogether and my temperature gauge was maxed out for the duration of the drive and the battery amp reader registered very low, almost zero. When I was almost to work, the defroster stopped working, the dash lights and headlights went dim, the speedometer as well as the RPM gauge stopped working and the stereo stopped working. When I finally parked the car, the lights would not turn back on and the engine wouldn't start, it made the tpyical dead battery noise. Is my alternator gone bad or is my problem worse perhaps?