Winter Storm in Indiana, January 31, 2002

Name: Winter Storm in Indiana, January 31, 2002
Start: 2002-01-31T04:00
End: 2002-01-31T05:30
Location: Indiana

January 31, 2002 · NWS LOT · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

A strong winter storm moved into the Ohio Valley on January 30th. Snow begin falling across Lake and Porter counties in the evening.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS LOT wrote it up.

A strong winter storm moved into the Ohio Valley on January 30th. Snow begin falling across Lake and Porter counties in the evening. The snow changed to freezing rain over most areas and produced ice accumulations of one quarter inch. Northwest Lake county received 6 inches of snow before changing to freezing rain, while other areas saw 2 to 5 inches of snow. The ice and snow knocked down utility poles, power lines, trees and tree limbs causing several power outages. Numerous car accidents were also reported.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Chicago, IL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 31, 2:35 AM CST, 1 hour 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 31, 2:35 AM CST, 1 hour 25 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
235 AM CST THU JAN 31 2002

FIRST MAJOR WINTER STORM OF THE SEASON TO WIND DOWN THIS MORNING.
SNOW AMOUNTS KEPT DOWN LAST 24 HOURS AS PRECIP MIXED WITH SLEET...
FZRA AND EVEN SOME RA AT TIMES I-80 CORRIDOR SOUTH. LATEST RADAR
LOOP SHOWING SOME BREAKS IN PRECIP SOUTHEAST CWA...BUT NEXT SLUG OF
MOISTURE NOW MOVING NORTHEAST THRU WEST CENTRAL IL.

MODELS IN GENERAL AGREEMENT THAT BEST LIFT AND RH EXIT REGION BY
LATE MORNING AND THIS TO SIGNAL END OF SIGNIFICANT PRECIP...WITH 6
HOURLY QPFS ONLY A FEW HUNDREDTHS AFTER 18Z...EXCEPT SOUTHEAST FA...
WHERE PRECIP TO CONTINUE MOST OF THE DAY. QUESTION IS THEN TYPE OF
PRECIP. FZRA AND SLEET BEING REPORTED ACROSS MIDDLE SECTIONS OF CWA
THIS MORNING...SNOW NORTH AND MAINLY RAIN SOUTH. SOUNDINGS CONTINUE
TO SUPPORT MIXED BAG WITH BELOW FREEZING LAYER NEAR THE SURFACE THRU
MID MORNING. SURFACE TEMPS SLOWLY RISE JUST ABOVE FREEZING AFTER
LIFT IS GONE...SO WHATEVER PRECIP LINGERS SHOULD CHANGE TO LIGHT
RAIN OR DRIZZLE BY LATE MORNING. SNOWFALL AMOUNTS NORTH AND WEST NOW
RANGING FROM 4 TO 8 INCHES...WITH ANOTHER 2 TO 5 BEFORE ENDING. ALL
THIS SAID WILL ISSUE WARNING FOR SNOW NORTH AND KEEP WARNING GOING
FOR MIXED BAG WITH SOME ICE ACCUMULATION SOUTH TO A PONTIAC TO VPZ
LINE.

LIGHT RAIN OR DRIZZLE MAY TAPER OFF THIS AFTERNOON...BUT UPPER LOW
HEADS NORTHEAST TONIGHT. SOUNDINGS COOL AND ANY LIQUID PRECIP ON
GOING SHOULD CHANGE BACK TO SNOW FROM NORTH TO SOUTH. CLEARING
FRIDAY AFTERNOON INTO SATURDAY BEFORE CLIPPER SWINGS THRU LAKES ON
SUNDAY AND WILL INTRODUCE CHANCE OF SHSN NORTH ON SUNDAY.

COORD WITH DVN

.CHI...WINTER STORM WARNING ALL COUNTIES SOUTH TO PONTIAC TO VPZ
       LINE.

CMS

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Lake

When: January 31, 4:00 AM CST to 5:30 AM CST
Where: Lake forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.472, -87.376 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Porter

When: January 31, 4:00 AM CST to 5:30 AM CST
Where: Porter forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.509, -87.073 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Indiana in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Indiana, January 2002

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5276439, 5276440.