Flood in Indiana, February 6 to 7, 2008

Name: Flood in Indiana, February 6 to 7, 2008
Start: 2008-02-06T11:30
End: 2008-02-07T11:30
Location: Indiana

February 6 to 7, 2008 · NWS IND · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Flooding occurred over Low Gap Road in Martin County. A 46 year old male drove his van into the flood waters.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. 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: 1
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $10,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 1

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.

Flooding occurred over Low Gap Road in Martin County. A 46 year old male drove his van into the flood waters. The vehicle appeared to have hit the strong current causing the vehicle to be swept down stream over 100 yards. The vehicle came to rest on some trees with the only part of the vehicle out of the water was a small portion of the driver's side of the vehicle.

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 Feb 6, 6:30 AM EST, 5 hours earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 6, 6:30 AM EST, 5 hours before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
630 AM EST WED FEB 6 2008

.AVIATION...

DISCUSSION FOR THE 12Z TAFS
SURFACE LOW ACROSS CENTRAL INDIANA AND CENTRAL ILLINOIS WILL REMAIN
ACROSS OUR AREA UNTIL MID OR LATE AFTERNOON. A S/W APPROACHING FROM
THE MID MISSISSIPPI VALLEY WILL CAUSE TO SHOWERS TO INCREASE AGAIN
DURING THE MORNING WITH PRECIP CHANGING TO OR BECOMING MIXED WITH
FLURYS THIS AFTERNOON.  AS THE LOW MOVES OUT THIS AFTERNOON CEILINGS
SHOULD IMPROVE TO LOW MVFR CATEGORY AND VSBYS ALSO RISING TO 5 MILES
AS WINDS INCREASE TO 15 TO 20 KNOTS.  MODELS SHOW WINDS DECREASING
SOME LATE TONIGHT AND VSBYS MAY DROP BACK INTO IFR CATEGORY.

&&

.DISCUSSION...
RADAR MOSAIC AT 9Z SHOWED RAIN SHOWERS MOVING NE BACK INTO THE SW
FA. FNT WAS LOCATED ACRS SRN FA BORDER. TEMPS WERE IN THE UPR 30S N
TO MID 40S S AND IR SAT SHOWED OVC SKIES. WATER VAPOR SAT SHOWED UPR
WAVE OVR SE MO MVING NE.

FORECAST FOCUS IS ON POPS TODAY/TONIGHT AND PRECIP TYPE. MODELS IN
GOOD AGREEMENT SO WL USE A BLEND.

TODAY...SHUD SEE RAIN SHOWERS ACRS THE AREA THIS MORNING AS UPR TROF
APPROACHES AND ANOTHER SFC WAVE MVS ALONG THE FNT WHICH ITSELF IS
NOT PROGGED TO MV MUCH. NAM SNDINGS KEEP ALL RAIN ACRS THE AREA
UNTIL 18Z. AFTER 18Z COULD SEE A CHANGE OVR TO SLEET IN THE NW
BEFORE CHANGING OVR TO ALL SNOW BY 0Z. IN THE CENTRAL FA COULD SEE
RAIN CHANGE OVR TO A MIX OF RAIN AND SNOW BETWEEN 18 AND 0Z. IN THE
S EXPECT PTYPE TO REMAIN RAIN THRU THE DAY. TEMPS SHUD REMAIN STEADY
MUCH OF THE DAY WITH COMPLETE CLOUD COVER AND THE FRONT NOT
PROGRESSING MUCH. STAYED NEARER FWC FOR HIGHS AS IT/S TIGHTER
GRADIENT MATCHED SITUATION BETTER. DROPPED POPS A BIT TO LIKELIES
FOR MORNING FOR COLLABORATION PURPOSES.

TONIGHT...HAVE CONTINUED CHC SNOW SHOWERS THROUGH 6Z IN THE NE AS
THE UPR LOW MVS ACRS THE FA. FOR LOWS USED A MAV/MET BLEND.

THU THRU FRI...USED A BLEND OF THE MAV/MET FOR HIGHS AND LOWS. WENT
WITH SLT CHC POPS MOST OF THE TIME AS LITTLE WAVES MV THRU THE UPR
FLOW. NONE LOOKS PARTICULARLY IMPRESSIVE BUT ANY COULD PRODUCE A
LITTLE SNOW /THU OR THU NT/ OR RAIN /FRI/. WAVE MVING THRU FRI NT
LOOKS A LITTLE BETTER BUT STILL NOTHING TOO IMPRESSIVE SO WENT WITH
CHC RAIN CHANGING OVR TO SNOW AS A COLD FNT MVS THRU.

TEMPS GET MUCH COLDER SAT NT/SUN AS COLD UPR LOW SWOOPS DOWN FROM
CANADA. SAT NT WL SEE THE RETURN OF SINGLE DIGITS TO MUCH OF THE FA.

&&

.IND WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
AREAL FLOOD WARNINGS THIS MORNING FOR
INZ021-028>031-035>049-051>057-060>065-067>072.

&&

PUBLIC...CP
AVIATION...JH

Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 6, 8:57 AM EST, 2 hours 33 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
857 AM EST WED FEB 6 2008

INZ037-039-041-042-045>049-051>057-060>065-067>072-071400-
BOONE-HAMILTON-DELAWARE-RANDOLPH-PUTNAM-HENDRICKS-MARION-HANCOCK-
HENRY-VIGO-CLAY-OWEN-MORGAN-JOHNSON-SHELBY-RUSH-SULLIVAN-GREENE-
MONROE-BROWN-BARTHOLOMEW-DECATUR-KNOX-DAVIESS-MARTIN-LAWRENCE-
JACKSON-JENNINGS-
857 AM EST WED FEB 6 2008

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL INDIANA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT.

FLOODING OF CREEKS AND STREAMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THURSDAY
MORNING ACROSS THE AREA. SOME AREA ROADWAYS WILL ALSO BE FLOODED.
DO NOT DRIVE THROUGH FLOODED ROADWAYS. THIS TYPE OF FLOODING
SHOULD SUBSIDE BY THURSDAY MORNING.

SIGNIFICANT TO MAJOR FLOODING IS EXPECTED ON THE WHITE...EAST FORK
WHITE...WABASH AND OTHER CENTRAL INDIANA RIVERS. CHECK THE LATEST
FLOOD STATEMENT FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY.

SIGNIFICANT TO MAJOR FLOODING IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE ON THE
WHITE...EAST FORK WHITE...WABASH AND OTHER CENTRAL INDIANA RIVERS.
CHECK THE LATEST FLOOD STATEMENT FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

WIND CHILLS SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING ARE EXPECTED TO BE
BELOW ZERO.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

&&

MORE INFORMATION...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER...HYDROLOGICAL AND
CLIMATE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND...AT HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/IND (ALL
LOWERCASE)

INZ021-028>031-035-036-038-040-043-044-071400-
CARROLL-WARREN-TIPPECANOE-CLINTON-HOWARD-FOUNTAIN-MONTGOMERY-
TIPTON-MADISON-VERMILLION-PARKE-
857 AM EST WED FEB 6 2008

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL INDIANA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT.

FLOODING OF CREEKS AND STREAMS WILL CONTINUE THROUGH THURSDAY
MORNING ACROSS THE AREA. SOME AREA ROADWAYS WILL ALSO BE FLOODED.
DO NOT DRIVE THROUGH FLOODED ROADWAYS. THIS TYPE OF FLOODING
SHOULD SUBSIDE BY THURSDAY MORNING.

SIGNIFICANT TO MAJOR FLOODING IS EXPECTED ON THE WHITE...EAST FORK
WHITE...WABASH AND OTHER CENTRAL INDIANA RIVERS. CHECK THE LATEST
FLOOD STATEMENT FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

THERE IS ALSO A CHANCE FOR A MIX OF SLEET AND SNOW THIS AFTERNOON
ACROSS NORTHWEST CENTRAL INDIANA. LESS THAN AN INCH OF
ACCUMULATION IS EXPECTED...BUT ANY SLEET COULD MAKE ROADS SLICK.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY.

SIGNIFICANT TO MAJOR FLOODING IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE ON THE
WHITE...EAST FORK WHITE...WABASH AND OTHER CENTRAL INDIANA RIVERS.
CHECK THE LATEST FLOOD STATEMENT FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

WIND CHILLS SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY MORNING ARE EXPECTED TO BE
BELOW ZERO.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED.

&&

MORE INFORMATION...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER...HYDROLOGICAL AND
CLIMATE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND...AT HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/IND (ALL
LOWERCASE)

CO

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Martin

When: February 6, 11:30 AM EST to February 7, 11:30 AM EST
Where: Martin County, 1.31 mi W of Mt Olive to 1.37 mi WSW of Mt Olive
Cause: Heavy Rain / Snow Melt
Deaths: 1 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $10,000
Reported by: Law Enforcement
Coordinates: 38.797, -86.704

Flooding occurred across Low Gap Road in Martin County. A 46 year old man drove into high water on Low Gap Road that was flooded from Indian Creek. The man drowned in the flood waters around 10 pm EST. His vehicle was swept 100 yards downstream and submerged.

The people who died

As the offices recorded each death: direct deaths were caused by the weather itself, indirect ones by something it set in motion.

Event	Date	Age	Sex	Where	Kind
Flood, Martin	2008-02-06	46	Male	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Direct

What these are

Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Indiana in 2008 Every state in 2008 This day in weather history Warnings in Indiana, February 2008

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: 80610.