Ice Storm in Indiana, January 25, 2004

Name: Ice Storm in Indiana, January 25, 2004
Start: 2004-01-25T05:00
End: 2004-01-25T17:00
Location: Indiana

January 25, 2004 · NWS PAH · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

Between one quarter and one half inch of ice coated all surfaces. Roads were dangerous and locally impassable.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 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: 6

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 PAH wrote it up.

Between one quarter and one half inch of ice coated all surfaces. Roads were dangerous and locally impassable. Hundreds of accidents were reported across southwest Indiana, including jackknifed tractor trailers. Some roads were closed. A State of Emergency was declared in Spencer and Pike Counties, which banned all travel except for emergencies. State highway crews were pulled off the roads in Spencer County after three salt trucks overturned on icy roads and a fourth went into a ditch. A fatal accident occurred on Interstate 64 on the Wabash River bridge at the Illinois state line. A van heading eastbound spun out of control on the bridge. A Mexican man and woman in the van died shortly after the wreck when a tractor-trailer rig struck them and the van (indirect fatalities). Several others in the van were not injured. In Chandler, a man was found dead in his vehicle after he had been spreading ice melt on his driveway (indirect fatality). The coroner suspected weather may have contributed to his death. Scattered power outages were reported throughout southwest Indiana as brisk winds brought down ice-laden tree limbs. Thousands of homes were without power. About 12,000 customers were without power on the east side of Evansville for about 90 minutes when ice brought down a transformer line. Another large power outage was in Boonville, where about 2,000 utility customers were affected. Evansville Regional Airport was closed for about three hours. Hospital emergency rooms reported numerous slip-and-fall injuries on the ice. The volume of accident calls was so great that towing companies were unable to keep up with the demand for help. An accident on Indiana 66 east of Grandview backed up traffic for quite a distance. The storm occurred on a Sunday. Churches cancelled services, and many retail stores were closed. Schools were cancelled on the day following the ice storm.

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 Paducah, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 25, 4:44 AM CST, 16 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 25, 4:44 AM CST, 16 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
444 AM CST SUN JAN 25 2004

.DISCUSSION...

FULL SCALE FREEZING RAIN EVENT IN PROGRESS EARLY THIS MORNING BUT
LATEST RADAR AND WATER VAPOR SHOWING UNEXPECTED DRY SLOT WORKING ITS
WAY INTO OUR WESTERN ZONES. WILL WATCH CLOSELY AND MAY HAVE TO
CANCEL WARNING OVER WESTERN SECTIONS IF PRECIP DOESNT FILL BACK IN.
AS SYSTEM LIFTS OUT THIS AFTERNOON...PRECIP WILL END FROM SOUTH TO
NORTH BUT NOT BEFORE CHANGING TO RAIN OVER THE SOUTHERN HALF AND
REMAINING RAIN OR FREEZING RAIN OVER THE NORTHERN HALF. NOT
CONVINCED THAT THERE WILL BE ANY MEASURABLE PRECIP THIS AFTERNOON...
ESPECIALLY OVER THE SOUTHERN HALF...BUT WILL LEAVE IN SCHC/CHC POPS
TONIGHT AND WILL GO WITH R/ZR NORTH AND R SOUTH. NOT ENOUGH QPF
TONIGHT TO WARRANT A WATCH/WARNING OVER THE NORTH TONIGHT. NO SOONER
THAN THE FIRST SHORT WAVE LIFTS OUT...ANOTHER LIFTS ACROSS THE
REGION ON MONDAY. MOISTURE LIMITED WITH THIS SYSTEM. MODELS VARY
GREATLY WITH POSITION OF SFC AND UPPER AT 00Z TUESDAY...WHICH MAKES
A TREMENDOUS DIFFERENCE ON THICKNESSES...SURFACE TEMPS...ETC...SO
WILL GO WITH A COMPROMISE. WILL GO WITH CHC POPS MONDAY MORNING WITH
R/ZR NORTH AND R SOUTH WITH A TRANSITION OVER TO SNOW FROM NW TO SE
BY MONDAY NIGHT. DUE TO LIMITED MOISTURE NOT EXPECTING MUCH IN THE
WAY OF ACCUMULATION. BY TUESDAY THIS SYSTEM WILL HAVE LIFTED OFF TO
THE NE. WILL MAKE NO CHANGES BEYOND TUESDAY.

&&

.PAH WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
KY...ICE STORM WARNING THROUGH 2PM CST.
MO...ICE STORM WARNING THROUGH 2PM CST.
IL...ICE STORM WARNING THROUGH 2PM CST.
IN...ICE STORM WARNING THROUGH 2PM CST.

&&

JAP

Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 25, 4:58 AM CST, 2 minutes before

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The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.

Ice Storm, Gibson

When: January 25, 5:00 AM CST to 5:00 PM CST
Where: Gibson forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 38.312, -87.585 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Pike

When: January 25, 5:00 AM CST to 5:00 PM CST
Where: Pike forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 38.399, -87.232 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Posey

When: January 25, 5:00 AM CST to 5:00 PM CST
Where: Posey forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 38.022, -87.868 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Spencer

When: January 25, 5:00 AM CST to 5:00 PM CST
Where: Spencer forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 38.014, -87.008 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Vanderburgh

When: January 25, 5:00 AM CST to 5:00 PM CST
Where: Vanderburgh forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 38.025, -87.586 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Ice Storm, Warrick

When: January 25, 5:00 AM CST to 5:00 PM CST
Where: Warrick forecast zone
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 38.092, -87.272 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Ice Storm: Freezing rain accumulating a quarter inch or more of ice, or less where it caused significant damage.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Indiana in 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Indiana, January 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5380998, 5380999, 5381000, 5381001, 5381002, 5381003.