Indiana, 2004

Winter Storm in Indiana, December 22 to 23, 2004

December 22 to 23, 2004 · NWS IWX · 10 events in 10 counties and zones

10 winter storm, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 10 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

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
10

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 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 Northern Indiana wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 22, 4:52 AM EST, 23 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 22, 4:52 AM EST, 23 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED WATCH/WARNING BLOCK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
452 AM EST WED DEC 22 2004

.SHORT TERM...
TODAY AND TONIGHT...
A MAJOR WINTER STORM WILL DEVELOP AND MOVE NORTH INTO OHIO BY
THURSDAY MORNING. OVERALL...HAVE SHIFTED THE TRACK OF THE HEAVIEST
SNOW WEST...AND INCLUDED ALL OF NW OHIO IN A WINTER STORM WARNING.
FORECAST SOUNDINGS STAY ENTIRELY BELOW FREEZING AS INITIAL SURGE OF
COLD AIR IS IN PLACE BY THE TIME THE HEAVIEST SNOW ARRIVES.

&&

.LONG TERM...
THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY...SECONDARY SURGE OF ARCTIC AIR WILL MOVE
ACROSS NORTHERN INDIANA AND SURROUNDING AREAS THURSDAY NIGHT. HAVE
ADDED ST JOSEPH INDIANA TO ONGOING LAKE EFFECT SNOW WATCH AS LOW
LEVEL FLOW BECOMES NORTHWEST AND VERY COLD AIR MOVES OVER SOUTHERN
LAKE MICHIGAN. 850 MB TEMPS DROP DOWN TO -24C...WITH DELTA TS NEAR
30. LAKE EFFECT SHOWERS BANDS WILL SHIFT INTO LOWER MICHIGAN FRIDAY
AS WINDS BECOME WEST. HAVE LOWERED TEMPS SIGNIFICANTLY MOST PERIODS
THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT GIVEN STRENGTH OF COLD AIR.
FAVOR MAV OVER MET WITH THESE COLDER TEMPS. MODERATION OF TEMPS OF
PREVIOUS FORECAST APPEARS ON TRACK...WITH TEMPERATURES RISING ABOVE
FREEZING EARLY NEXT WEEK.

&&

.AVIATION...
RADAR ECHOES OVR CNTRL IN ARE MID LVL CLOUDS AS AIR AT LOW LEVELS
STILL TOO DRY TO ALLOW ANY PRECIP TO FALL THRU. SATELLITE AND SFC
OBS SHOW MVFR CIGS NR CDFNT THAT IS MOVG THRU AREA. EXPECT MVFR CIGS
IN KSBN THRU NEXT 24 HRS. ON WRN EDGE OF MAJOR SNOW SYSTEM TODAY AND
TONIGHT...SO VSBY RESTRICTIONS MINIMAL. KFWA WL BE IN EDGE OF HEAVY
SNOW TONIGHT...SO WL BE IN IFR VSBY AND CIGS AT TIMES AFTER 21Z.
BEFORE THAT...GRADUALLY DETERIORATING WX...INTO MVFR BY 12Z.

&&

.IWX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
IN...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR TODAY FOR ZONES INZ018...INZ025>027...
INZ032>034.

WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON
FOR ZONES INZ007...INZ009.

WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON
FOR ZONES INZ006...INZ008...INZ017...INZ023>024.

LAKE EFFECT SNOW WATCH TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON FOR LA
PORTE AND ST JOSEPH COUNTIES

MI...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THURSDAY
AFTERNOON FOR ZONE MIZ081.

WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FOR THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON
FOR ZONE MIZ080.

LAKE EFFECT SNOW WATCH TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON FOR
BERRIEN COUNTY

OH...WINTER STORM WARNING FOR TODAY FOR ZONES OHZ015>016...
OHZ024>025.

WINTER STORM WARNING FOR THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON
FOR ZONES OHZ001>002...OHZ004>005.

&&

EDDY/SKIP

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

10 winter storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Allen

When
December 22, 5:15 AM EST to December 23, 10:44 AM EST
Where
Allen forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
41.091, -85.067 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Low pressure moved out of the western Gulf of Mexico and tracked towards eastern Ohio. Abundant moisture accompanying the system allowed for a large area of snow to blanket much of northern Indiana. Accumulations of 6 to 12 inches fell southeast of a Marion, to Fort Wayne to Angola line. Locations from Hartford City to near Decatur seen the highest accumulations, with Ridgeville in Jay county reporting 13 inches of snow. During the peak of the storm, the snow fell at the rate of 2 to 3 inches per hour in some areas.

Winter Storm, Grant

When
December 22, 5:50 AM EST to December 23, 10:44 AM EST
Where
Grant forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.516, -85.655 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Low pressure moved out of the western Gulf of Mexico and tracked towards eastern Ohio. Abundant moisture accompanying the system allowed for a large area of snow to blanket much of northern Indiana. Accumulations of 6 to 12 inches fell southeast of a Marion, to Fort Wayne to Angola line. Locations from Hartford City to near Decatur seen the highest accumulations, with Ridgeville in Jay county reporting 13 inches of snow. During the peak of the storm, the snow fell at the rate of 2 to 3 inches per hour in some areas.

Winter Storm, Adams

When
December 22, 5:50 AM EST to December 23, 10:44 AM EST
Where
Adams forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.746, -84.937 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Low pressure moved out of the western Gulf of Mexico and tracked towards eastern Ohio. Abundant moisture accompanying the system allowed for a large area of snow to blanket much of northern Indiana. Accumulations of 6 to 12 inches fell southeast of a Marion, to Fort Wayne to Angola line. Locations from Hartford City to near Decatur seen the highest accumulations, with Ridgeville in Jay county reporting 13 inches of snow. During the peak of the storm, the snow fell at the rate of 2 to 3 inches per hour in some areas.

Winter Storm, Jay

When
December 22, 5:50 AM EST to December 23, 10:44 AM EST
Where
Jay forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.438, -85.006 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Low pressure moved out of the western Gulf of Mexico and tracked towards eastern Ohio. Abundant moisture accompanying the system allowed for a large area of snow to blanket much of northern Indiana. Accumulations of 6 to 12 inches fell southeast of a Marion, to Fort Wayne to Angola line. Locations from Hartford City to near Decatur seen the highest accumulations, with Ridgeville in Jay county reporting 13 inches of snow. During the peak of the storm, the snow fell at the rate of 2 to 3 inches per hour in some areas.

Winter Storm, Huntington

When
December 22, 5:50 AM EST to December 23, 10:44 AM EST
Where
Huntington forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.829, -85.488 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Low pressure moved out of the western Gulf of Mexico and tracked towards eastern Ohio. Abundant moisture accompanying the system allowed for a large area of snow to blanket much of northern Indiana. Accumulations of 6 to 12 inches fell southeast of a Marion, to Fort Wayne to Angola line. Locations from Hartford City to near Decatur seen the highest accumulations, with Ridgeville in Jay county reporting 13 inches of snow. During the peak of the storm, the snow fell at the rate of 2 to 3 inches per hour in some areas.

Winter Storm, De Kalb

When
December 22, 5:50 AM EST to December 23, 10:44 AM EST
Where
De Kalb forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
41.398, -84.999 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Low pressure moved out of the western Gulf of Mexico and tracked towards eastern Ohio. Abundant moisture accompanying the system allowed for a large area of snow to blanket much of northern Indiana. Accumulations of 6 to 12 inches fell southeast of a Marion, to Fort Wayne to Angola line. Locations from Hartford City to near Decatur seen the highest accumulations, with Ridgeville in Jay county reporting 13 inches of snow. During the peak of the storm, the snow fell at the rate of 2 to 3 inches per hour in some areas.

Winter Storm, Wells

When
December 22, 5:50 AM EST to December 23, 10:44 AM EST
Where
Wells forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.729, -85.221 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Low pressure moved out of the western Gulf of Mexico and tracked towards eastern Ohio. Abundant moisture accompanying the system allowed for a large area of snow to blanket much of northern Indiana. Accumulations of 6 to 12 inches fell southeast of a Marion, to Fort Wayne to Angola line. Locations from Hartford City to near Decatur seen the highest accumulations, with Ridgeville in Jay county reporting 13 inches of snow. During the peak of the storm, the snow fell at the rate of 2 to 3 inches per hour in some areas.

Winter Storm, Steuben

When
December 22, 5:50 AM EST to December 23, 10:44 AM EST
Where
Steuben forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
41.644, -85.001 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Low pressure moved out of the western Gulf of Mexico and tracked towards eastern Ohio. Abundant moisture accompanying the system allowed for a large area of snow to blanket much of northern Indiana. Accumulations of 6 to 12 inches fell southeast of a Marion, to Fort Wayne to Angola line. Locations from Hartford City to near Decatur seen the highest accumulations, with Ridgeville in Jay county reporting 13 inches of snow. During the peak of the storm, the snow fell at the rate of 2 to 3 inches per hour in some areas.

Winter Storm, Blackford

When
December 22, 8:35 AM EST to December 23, 10:44 AM EST
Where
Blackford forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
40.474, -85.325 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Low pressure moved out of the western Gulf of Mexico and tracked towards eastern Ohio. Abundant moisture accompanying the system allowed for a large area of snow to blanket much of northern Indiana. Accumulations of 6 to 12 inches fell southeast of a Marion, to Fort Wayne to Angola line. Locations from Hartford City to near Decatur seen the highest accumulations, with Ridgeville in Jay county reporting 13 inches of snow. During the peak of the storm, the snow fell at the rate of 2 to 3 inches per hour in some areas.

Winter Storm, Whitley

When
December 22, 7:00 PM EST to December 23, 10:44 AM EST
Where
Whitley forecast zone
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
41.139, -85.505 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Low pressure moved out of the western Gulf of Mexico and tracked towards eastern Ohio. Abundant moisture accompanying the system allowed for a large area of snow to blanket much of northern Indiana. Accumulations of 6 to 12 inches fell southeast of a Marion, to Fort Wayne to Angola line. Locations from Hartford City to near Decatur seen the highest accumulations, with Ridgeville in Jay county reporting 13 inches of snow. During the peak of the storm, the snow fell at the rate of 2 to 3 inches per hour in some areas.

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

More

Every storm in Indiana in 2004Every state in 2004This day in weather historyWarnings in Indiana, December 2004

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: 5429063, 5429062, 5429064, 5429135, 5429136, 5429137, 5429138, 5429216, 5429134, 5429217.