Heavy Snow in Indiana, January 27 to 28, 2009

Name: Heavy Snow in Indiana, January 27 to 28, 2009
Start: 2009-01-27T15:00
End: 2009-01-28T11:00
Location: Indiana

January 27 to 28, 2009 · NWS IWX · 10 events in 10 counties and zones

A deepening area of low pressure tracked from Tennessee northeast into western Pennsylvania late January 27th into January 28th. A swath of heavy snow fell to the northwest of this track, which affected portions of central and northeast Indiana.

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 happened

The episode as NWS IWX wrote it up.

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 Jan 27, 12:32 PM EST, 2 hours 28 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 27, 12:32 PM EST, 2 hours 28 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
1232 PM EST TUE JAN 27 2009

.UPDATE...
GRID UPDATE WENT OUT JUST TRIMMING DOWN TOTAL AMOUNTS FOR THE
EVENT. WHILE MODELS NOW ALL ONBOARD WITH QPF OF 0.75 OR SO...THINK
THEY COULD BE POTENTIALLY OVERDONE. NEW HPC PRELIM GRAPHICS COMING
IN NOW WITH AROUND 6 INCHES IN FAR SE WHICH SEEM REASONABLE. WOULD
NOT BE SURPRISED TO SEE SOMEONE COME IN WITH AN 8 INCH AMOUNT BUT
AT THIS TIME THINK THAT WILL BE IN THE MINORITY. WILL CONTINUE TO
MONITOR TRENDS BUT JUST LIKE SOUTHERN OFFICES WILL HOLD WITH
CURRENT HEADLINES AND SEE HOW THINGS DEVELOP OVER NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS.

&&

.AVIATION...
18Z TAFS.
TAFS STATUS QUO AT THIS POINT WITH LIGHT SNOW STILL EXPECTED TO
BEGIN TO DEVELOP LATER THIS AFTERNOON AND EXPAND TONIGHT. STILL
SOME FINE TUNING MAY NEED TO BE DONE AS THIS SYSTEM EVOLVES BUT
FOR NOW TAFS IN DECENT SHAPE.

&&

.PREV DISCUSSION... /ISSUED 422 AM EST TUE JAN 27 2009/

SHORT TERM...THROUGH WED NIGHT
AS ELUDED TO YDA...COMPLEX SW TROUGH OVR THE SWRN US EJECTING OUT
SLOWER AND CERTAINLY BORNE OUT W/00Z MODEL SOLUTIONS...ESP ECMWF
WHICH CONTS ITS PREVALENT NW LEFT OF TRACK TREND AND NOW
COMPLIMENTED W/A RATHER DRAMATIC SHIFT OF GEM ENSEMBLES NWWD. IN
ADDN...NEARLY HALF OF GFS ENSEMBLES NOW LEFT COMPARED TO LAST NIGHT.
THUS IT SEEMS PRUDENT TO COMPROMISE FURTHER TWD THIS SOLUTION YET
UNCERTAINTY REMAINS HIGH ESP IN CONTEXT OF STRENGTHENING/NW TREND
WHICH MAY HAVE YET NOT RESOLVED ITSELF FULLY OR IT MAY BE POSSIBLE
OP ECMWF HAS SWUNG TOO FAR NWWD. IN THE LEAST...SIG ADJUSTMENTS
REQUIRED SE HALF TONIGHT-WED MORNING FOREMOST OF WHICH WILL BE THE
ISSUANCE OF A HIGH END SNOW ADVISORY. POTENTIAL SNOW AMOUNTS
ALONG/SOUTHEAST OF A LOGANSPORT-DEFIANCE LINE COULD MAKE AN ARGUMENT
FOR A WARNING YET AFOREMENTIONED UNCERTAINTY SUGGESTS OTHERWISE ESP
IF NW SHIFT IS NOT YET DONE.

FOR TDA...TIGHT MID LVL THERMAL TROUGH READILY APPARENT IN COMPOSITE
RADAR IMAGERY W/INCREASING RTNS NOTED ALG A KBMI-KAOH LINE
W/SATURATION NOW AS FAR NORTH AS KMIE IN ASSOCN/W BROADENING LL WAA
DOWNSTREAM OF SW CONUS SW TROUGH. XPC A PD OF LIGHT SNOW WILL DVLP
FAR SOUTH THROUGH DAYBREAK BFR DIMINISHING BY MID MORNING AS
ISENTROPIC LIFT BREAKS DOWN TEMPORARILY SOUTH OF DEPARTING UPR JET
STREAK OVR THE ERN LAKES. RENEWED DVLPMNT ENSUES THIS AFTN AS
SECONDARY JETLET EJECTS OUT OF THE SRN PLAINS AND DENOTED WITHIN
EXPANDING PCPN SHIELD OVR NW TX AND WHICH FITS WELL W/CURRENT LT
AFTN POP GRADIENT.

TONIGHT...UPR JET SHIFTS NWD IN RESPONSE TO EJECTING SW LOW AND
ABUNDANT DOWNSTREAM HGT FALLS. DEGREE OF MID LVL HGT AMPLIFICATION
INVOF OF 200M HFC OPENS THE DOOR FOR A MORE SIG NWD MSTR SURGE
OVERTOP ARCTIC DOME. THIS POSES A DILEMMA IN TERMS OF SWR W/A 15:
RATIO SUITED BEST AND W/CONSENSUS QPF SUGGESTS A PD OF MOD-HVY SNOW
LIKELY ACRS MUCH OF THE IN/OH CWA TONIGHT. W/THIS TIMING IN
MIND...PLENTY OF TIME YET TO UPGRADE LTR TDA AS NEEDED W/12Z OUTPUT
HOPEFULLY NARROWING ON TRACK OF SFC CYCLONE. INTERESTINGLY NEW 06Z
NAM/WRF NOW TAKES SFC LOW INTO SERN OH WED AM.

WED...MADE SIG ADJUSTMENT TO ACCOUNT FOR A SLWR SYS THROUGH THE
MORNING AND PROBABLY NOT ENOUGH CONSIDERING THE SHARPENING TREND
W/00Z SOLUTIONS AS A WHOLE...WHICH ALSO SUGGESTS EXPANSION OF POPS
INTO WED AFTN MAY BE NEEDED. IN COLLABORATION W/NEIGHBORS...WILL RUN
THE ADVISORY UNTIL NOON FOR NOW. REMAINDER...ESP TEMPS ON TRACK
W/FEW CHGS.

LONG TERM...
THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY...AN UPPER LEVEL TROF WILL DROP SOUTHEAST
INTO THE REGION THURSDAY...ACCOMPANIED BY ANOTHER SURGE OF ARCTIC
AIR. THE GFS IS A LITTLE FASTER THAN THE ECMWF...BUT OTHERWISE ARE
IN AGREEMENT WITH EACH OTHER REGARDING THE TIMING AND STRENGTH OF
THIS SYSTEM. LIMITED MOISTURE AND DYNAMICS SHOULD KEEP SNOW
AMOUNTS ON THE LIGHT SIDE. THE LAKE EFFECT SNOW WINDOW WILL ALSO
BE LIMITED AS WINDS BACK FRIDAY NIGHT AHEAD OF ANOTHER APPROACHING
TROF. THE GFS MEAN ENSEMBLE MEX HAS TRENDED TEMPS DOWN FRIDAY FOR
DAYS...WITH THE LATEST OPERATIONAL MEX MOS HIGH OF 20 AT FWA. IN
LIGHT OF THIS...HAVE TRENDED TEMPS DOWN FRIDAY...BUT BELIEVE HIGHS
MAY REMAIN IN THE TEENS GIVEN ANTICIPATED SNOW COVER AND THE
RECENT GFS WARM BIAS IN THIS PATTERN OF RETREATING ARCTIC
AIRMASSES. IT LOOKS LIKE THE MEX HIGHS ARE TOO WARM SATURDAY GIVEN
LIMITED AIRMASS MODIFICATION. TIMING DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE ECMWF
AND GFS BECOME MORE PRONOUNCED BY SUNDAY. THE GFS ENSEMBLE SPREAD
IS ALSO MUCH LARGER WITH THIS SYSTEM...SO HESITANT TO MAKE ANY
CHANGES WITH THIS SYSTEM. OVERALL...OTHER THAN A BRIEF MODERATION
SATURDAY... TEMPERATURES WILL REMAIN COLD WITH REINFORCING SURGES
OF ARCTIC AIR. SNOWFALL AMOUNTS SHOULD REMAIN LIGHT.

&&

.IWX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
IN...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 4 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 1 PM EST
     WEDNESDAY FOR INZ026-027-032>034.

     WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 1 PM EST
     WEDNESDAY FOR INZ008-009-015>018-020-022>025.

MI...NONE.
OH...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 4 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 1 PM EST
     WEDNESDAY FOR OHZ016-024-025.

     WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 6 PM THIS EVENING TO 1 PM EST
     WEDNESDAY FOR OHZ001-002-004-005-015.

LM...NONE.
&&

SHORT TERM...HOLSTEN
LONG TERM...SKIPPER
AVIATION...FISHER
UPDATE...FISHER

Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 27, 5:55 AM EST, 9 hours 5 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

10 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Cass

When: January 27, 3:00 PM EST to January 28, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Cass forecast zone
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 40.762, -86.346 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow, moderate to heavy at times, developed during the afternoon hours on January 27th and continued through the mid-morning hours of January 28th. Total snow accumulations of 5 to 7 inches were reported across Cass County, with a report of 6 inches 1 mile east-southeast of Galveston. There were reports of slide-offs and accidents across the region. Most schools were closed on January 28th due to the heavy snowfall.

Heavy Snow, Miami

When: January 27, 3:00 PM EST to January 28, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Miami forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 40.770, -86.045 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow, moderate to heavy at times, developed during the afternoon hours on January 27th and continued through the mid-morning hours of January 28th. Total snow accumulations of 5 to 7 inches were reported across the county, with a report of 6 inches in Peru. There were reports of slide-offs and accidents across the region. Most schools were closed on January 28th due to the heavy snowfall.

Heavy Snow, Wabash

When: January 27, 3:00 PM EST to January 28, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Wabash forecast zone
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 40.846, -85.794 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow, moderate to heavy at times, developed during the afternoon hours on January 27th and continued through the mid-morning hours of January 28th. Total snow accumulations of 6 to 8 inches were reported across the county. There were reports of slide-offs and accidents across the region. Most schools were closed on January 28th due to the heavy snowfall.

Heavy Snow, Grant

When: January 27, 3:00 PM EST to January 28, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Grant forecast zone
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 40.516, -85.655 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow, moderate to heavy at times, developed during the afternoon hours on January 27th and continued through the mid-morning hours of January 28th. Total snow accumulations of 5 to 7 inches were reported across the county, with a report of 6.5 inches in Marion. There were reports of slide-offs and accidents across the region. Most schools were closed on January 28th due to the heavy snowfall.

Heavy Snow, Huntington

When: January 27, 4:00 PM EST to January 28, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Huntington forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 40.829, -85.488 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow, moderate to heavy at times, developed during the afternoon hours on January 27th and continued through the mid-morning hours of January 28th. Total snow accumulations of 5 to 7 inches were reported across the county, with a report of 5.7 inches in Huntington. There were reports of slide-offs and accidents across the region. Most schools were closed on January 28th due to the heavy snowfall.

Heavy Snow, Allen

When: January 27, 4:00 PM EST to January 28, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Allen forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 41.091, -85.067 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow, moderate to heavy at times, developed during the afternoon hours on January 27th and continued through the mid-morning hours of January 28th. Total snow accumulations of 5 to 8 inches were reported across the county, with a report of 6.8 at the Fort Wayne International Airport. There were reports of slide-offs and accidents across the region. Many schools were closed on January 28th due to the heavy snowfall.

Heavy Snow, Wells

When: January 27, 4:00 PM EST to January 28, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Wells forecast zone
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 40.729, -85.221 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow, moderate to heavy at times, developed during the afternoon hours on January 27th and continued through the mid-morning hours of January 28th. Total snow accumulations of 6 to 8 inches were reported across the county. There were reports of slide-offs and accidents across the region. Many schools were closed on January 28th due to the heavy snowfall.

Heavy Snow, Adams

When: January 27, 4:00 PM EST to January 28, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Adams forecast zone
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 40.746, -84.937 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow, moderate to heavy at times, developed during the afternoon hours on January 27th and continued through the mid-morning hours of January 28th. Total snow accumulations of 6 to 9 inches were reported across the county, with 8 inches reported 1 mile west-southwest of Berne. There were reports of slide-offs and accidents across the region. Many schools were closed on January 28th due to the heavy snowfall.

Heavy Snow, Blackford

When: January 27, 4:00 PM EST to January 28, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Blackford forecast zone
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 40.474, -85.325 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow, moderate to heavy at times, developed during the afternoon hours on January 27th and continued through the mid-morning hours of January 28th. Total snow accumulations of 6 to 9 inches were reported across the county. There were reports of slide-offs and accidents across the region. Many schools were closed on January 28th due to the heavy snowfall.

Heavy Snow, Jay

When: January 27, 4:00 PM EST to January 28, 11:00 AM EST
Where: Jay forecast zone
Reported by: Newspaper
Coordinates: 40.438, -85.006 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snow, moderate to heavy at times, developed during the afternoon hours on January 27th and continued through the mid-morning hours of January 28th. Total snow accumulations of 6 to 9 inches were reported across the county. There were reports of slide-offs and accidents across the region. Many schools were closed on January 28th due to the heavy snowfall.

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

Every storm in Indiana in 2009 Every state in 2009 This day in weather history Warnings in Indiana, January 2009

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 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 142884, 142885, 142889, 142891, 142894, 142896, 142899, 142900, 142902, 142903.