Indiana, 2005

Heavy Snow in Indiana, December 8, 2005

December 8, 2005 · NWS IND · 32 events in 32 counties and zones

The first significant snowstorm of the 2005-2006 winter season struck central Indiana on the afternoon and evening of 8 December 2005, causing a minor transportation controversy in the Indianapolis area. City streets were clogged with commuters, many of whom left their places of business at the height of the storm in an attempt to avoid a snowy rush hour.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 32 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
32

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 IND wrote it up.

The first significant snowstorm of the 2005-2006 winter season struck central Indiana on the afternoon and evening of 8 December 2005, causing a minor transportation controversy in the Indianapolis area. City streets were clogged with commuters, many of whom left their places of business at the height of the storm in an attempt to avoid a snowy rush hour. This brought traffic to a virtual standstill across the city, with many citizens reporting commutes taking up to ten or more times the normal amount of time due to the gridlock. Compounding the problem were 214 accidents reported by the Marion County Sheriff's Department, 119 accidents to which the Indiana State Police responded, and many cars which were simply abandoned in the roads as they ran out of gas in the heavy traffic. Streets were snowy and slick, but traffic prevented snowplow crews from remedying the problem quickly.The 7.7 inches of snow measured at the Indianapolis International Airport made the day the sixth snowiest on record at that site. Throughout central Indiana, snowfall totals generally ranged from 4 to 8 inches, with most areas receiving 6-7 inches of snow.

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 Indianapolis, IN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 7, 3:45 PM EST, 22 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 7, 3:45 PM EST, 22 hours 15 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 7, 3:56 PM EST, 22 hours 4 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

32 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Sullivan

When
December 8, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Sullivan forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
39.089, -87.415 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Monroe

When
December 8, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Monroe forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
39.161, -86.523 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Brown

When
December 8, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Brown forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
39.196, -86.227 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Bartholomew

When
December 8, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Bartholomew forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
39.206, -85.898 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Decatur

When
December 8, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Decatur forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
39.307, -85.501 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Vigo

When
December 8, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Vigo forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
39.431, -87.390 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Clay

When
December 8, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Clay forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
39.393, -87.116 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Owen

When
December 8, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Owen forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
39.313, -86.838 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Morgan

When
December 8, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Morgan forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
39.482, -86.446 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Johnson

When
December 8, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Johnson forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
39.490, -86.102 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Shelby

When
December 8, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Shelby forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
39.524, -85.792 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Rush

When
December 8, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Rush forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
39.620, -85.466 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Vermillion

When
December 8, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Vermillion forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
39.854, -87.464 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Parke

When
December 8, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Parke forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
39.774, -87.206 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Putnam

When
December 8, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Putnam forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
39.666, -86.845 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Hendricks

When
December 8, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Hendricks forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
39.770, -86.510 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Marion

When
December 8, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Marion forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
39.782, -86.138 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Hancock

When
December 8, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Hancock forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
39.824, -85.773 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Henry

When
December 8, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Henry forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
39.931, -85.396 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Warren

When
December 8, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Warren forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
40.347, -87.353 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Fountain

When
December 8, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Fountain forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
40.121, -87.242 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Montgomery

When
December 8, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Montgomery forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
40.040, -86.893 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Boone

When
December 8, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Boone forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
40.051, -86.469 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Hamilton

When
December 8, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Hamilton forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
40.073, -86.052 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Madison

When
December 8, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Madison forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
40.162, -85.719 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Delaware

When
December 8, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Delaware forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
40.228, -85.397 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Randolph

When
December 8, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Randolph forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
40.158, -85.011 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Tippecanoe

When
December 8, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Tippecanoe forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
40.389, -86.894 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Clinton

When
December 8, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Clinton forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
40.302, -86.475 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Tipton

When
December 8, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Tipton forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
40.311, -86.052 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Carroll

When
December 8, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Carroll forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
40.583, -86.563 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Howard

When
December 8, 2:00 PM EST to 9:00 PM EST
Where
Howard forecast zone
Reported by
OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates
40.484, -86.117 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Heavy Snow
Snowfall reaching the local warning threshold without the other hazards of a winter storm.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Indiana in 2005Every state in 2005This day in weather historyWarnings in Indiana, December 2005

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: 5482682, 5482683, 5482684, 5482685, 5482686, 5482687, 5482688, 5482689, 5482690, 5482691, 5482692, 5482693, 5482694, 5482695, 5482696, 5482697, 5482698, 5482699, 5482700, 5482701, 5482702, 5482703, 5482704, 5482705, 5482706, 5482707, 5482708, 5482709, 5482710, 5482711, 5482712, 5482792.