Indiana, 2009

Flood in Indiana, January 6, 2009

January 6, 2009 · NWS IND · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Above normal temperatures through January 4th, melting snow and ice, along with rainfall that fell in late December rose the level of the White River at and near Muncie to less than one foot above flood stage briefly on January 6th.

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
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
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.

Above normal temperatures through January 4th, melting snow and ice, along with rainfall that fell in late December rose the level of the White River at and near Muncie to less than one foot above flood stage briefly on January 6th.

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 Jan 6, 6:20 PM EST, 54 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 6, 6:20 PM EST, 54 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
620 PM EST TUE JAN 6 2009

.AVIATION DISCUSSION...FOR THE 00Z TAFS
MAIN PROBLEM DURING THE TAF PERIOD WILL BE THE IFR TO LIFR
CONDITIONS. AT THE BEGINNING OF THE TAF WARM FRONT WAS OVER CENTRAL
INDIANA. THIS EXTENDED TO A COLD FRONT IN IOWA AND MO. EXTREMELY
MOIST AIR IN THE LOW LEVELS WILL REMAIN IN INDIANA THROUGH THE TAF
PERIOD. THROUGH 03Z-06Z TEMPERATURES IN THE LOW LEVELS WILL BE
AROUND FREEZING. THIS WILL GIVE A MIXTURE OF FREEZING DRIZZLE AND
DRIZZLE. THE DRIZZLE MAY FREEZE ON COLD SURFACES SO DEICING MAY BE
REQUIRED. BY 06Z TEMPS IN LOW LEVELS WILL DROP BELOW FREEZING. ONLY
LIGHT SNOW SHOWERS OR FLURRIES MAY OCCUR. THERE WILL BE LITTLE IF
ANY ACCUMULATION. AS THE COLD FRONT APPROACHES ON WEDNESDAY WINDS
WILL INCREASE TO 14-24 KTS. THIS WILL GIVE ENOUGH MIXING TO BRING
CONDITIONS TO MVFR LEVELS BY 12Z-15Z.

&&

.DISCUSSION...

FORECAST FOCUS IS ON CHANCES FOR PRECIP AND PRECIP TYPE IN THE SHORT
TERM.

AT 18Z A SFC TROF WAS NEAR THE OH RIVER WITH TEMPS IN THE MID 30S
AND ABOVE SOUTH OF THE TROF AND TEMPS GENERALLY AOB 32 NORTH OF THE
TROF. BULK OF PRECIPITATION WAS SOUTH OF THE FORECAST AREA /FA/.
MAIN UPPER TROF WAS WELL TO THE W ACROSS THE PLAINS STATES.

MODELS ARE IN FAIR AGREEMENT...BUT NAM IS OVERDOING THE WARMING AT
THE SFC. NAM ALSO HAVING TROUBLE WITH INITIAL SHORTWAVE /SEE
NATIONAL MODEL DIAGONSTIC DISCUSSION FOR DETAILS/. WILL GO CLOSER TO
GFS AND SIMILAR ECMWF.

WEAK FORCING CONTINUES TONIGHT AS IMPULSES MOVE ACROSS THE AREA IN
SW UPPER FLOW AHEAD OF APPROACHING UPPER TROF. SFC LOW WILL BE
PULLING AWAY FROM THE AREA AS WELL. TIME SECTIONS SHOW MOST MOISTURE
AND LIFT WILL BE IN THE LOWER LEVELS OF THE ATMS...WITH THE
EXCEPTION OF FAR SRN FA WHICH WILL HAVE MORE MOISTURE TO WORK WITH.
WILL KEEP LIKELY POPS ACROSS FAR SRN FA AND CHANCE POPS ELSEWHERE.
THAT BEING SAID...THE LIFT IN THE LOWER LEVELS OF THE ATMS WILL
STILL LIKELY GENERATE DRIZZLE...SO WILL CONTINUE WITH OCNL DRIZZLE
WORDING THERE. THE PROBLEM THEN BECOMES PRECIP TYPE. LOOKS LIKE
SOUTHERN HALF OF FA WILL BE AT OR ABOVE FREEZING...SO WILL KEEP AS
LIQUID THERE. ACROSS NORTHERN FA TEMPS WILL BE AT OR BELOW
FREEZING...SO WILL PUT OCNL DRIZZLE OR FREEZING DRIZZLE. COULD STILL
BE SOME ICING PROBLEMS FOR THOSE AREAS...SO WILL CONTINUE WINTER
WEATHER ADVISORY FOR NRN HALF OF FA. IF TEMPS RISE MORE THAN
EXPECTED...ADVRY CAN BE CANCELED AS NECESSARY. OVERNIGHT COLUMN
SHOULD COOL ENOUGH FOR PRECIP TO BE SNOW. MAV TEMPS LOOK REASONABLE
GIVEN CLOUDS AND PRECIP.

ON WED UPPER TROF WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA ALONG WITH COLDER AIR.
UPPER TROF SHOULD PROVIDE ENOUGH FORCING FOR CHANCE POPS. MUCH OF
THE ATMS WILL BE COLD ENOUGH TO SUPPORT SNOW...SO WILL KEEP THINGS
SIMPLE WITH SNOW AS PRECIP TYPE. WARMER TEMPS IN THE LOWER ATMS MAY
ALLOW PRECIP TO MIX AT TIMES WITH RAIN IN SRN FA...BUT UNCERTAINTY
PRECLUDES MENTIONING THIS ATTM. MAV TEMPS LOOK A BIT TOO WARM GIVEN
COLD ADVECTION...SO WILL TRIM A BIT.

AS SYSTEM EXITS WED NIGHT COULD BE SOME LINGERING SNOW ACROSS ERN FA
DURING THE EVENING. OTHERWISE WENT DRY. DRY FORECAST CONTINUES UNTIL
LATE FRI WHEN ANOTHER FRONT MOVES IN AND BRINGS A CHANCE FOR A
LITTLE SNOW.

&&

.IND WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL MIDNIGHT EST TONIGHT FOR
INZ021-028>031-035>049-056-057.

&&

PUBLIC...CS/CO
AVIATION...SH
Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 6, 12:47 PM EST, 6 hours 27 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
1247 PM EST TUE JAN 6 2009

INZ021-028>031-035>049-056-057-071800-
CARROLL-WARREN-TIPPECANOE-CLINTON-HOWARD-FOUNTAIN-MONTGOMERY-
BOONE-TIPTON-HAMILTON-MADISON-DELAWARE-RANDOLPH-VERMILLION-PARKE-
PUTNAM-HENDRICKS-MARION-HANCOCK-HENRY-SHELBY-RUSH-
1247 PM EST TUE JAN 6 2009

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL MIDNIGHT EST TONIGHT...

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL INDIANA.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

LIGHT FREEZING DRIZZLE AND LIGHT DRIZZLE WILL CONTINUE TO OCCUR
MAINLY NORTH OF INTERSTATE 70 INTO TONIGHT. ANY FREEZING DRIZZLE
SHOULD GRADUALLY CHANGE TO LIGHT SNOW AFTER MIDNIGHT. LITTLE OR NO
ACCUMULATION WILL OCCUR.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY.

THERE IS A CHANCE OF SNOW ON WEDNESDAY. LITTLE MEASURABLE SNOW IS
EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. THERE WILL ALSO BE A CHANCE FOR SNOW ON
FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO RELAY REPORTS OF ICY CONDITIONS.

&&

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

INZ060-067-071800-
SULLIVAN-KNOX-
1247 PM EST TUE JAN 6 2009

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL INDIANA.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

LOWLAND FLOODING WILL CONTINUE ALONG PORTIONS OF THE WABASH
RIVER. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST HYDROLOGIC WARNINGS AND
STATEMENTS FOR FURTHER INFORMATION.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY.

THERE IS A CHANCE OF RAIN AND SNOW ON WEDNESDAY. LITTLE MEASURABLE
SNOW IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. THERE WILL BE A CHANCE FOR SNOW
FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY.

LOWLAND FLOODING WILL CONTINUE ALONG PORTIONS OF THE WABASH RIVER.
PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST HYDROLOGIC WARNINGS AND STATEMENTS FOR
FURTHER INFORMATION.

.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)

INZ051>055-061>065-068>072-071800-
VIGO-CLAY-OWEN-MORGAN-JOHNSON-GREENE-MONROE-BROWN-BARTHOLOMEW-
DECATUR-DAVIESS-MARTIN-LAWRENCE-JACKSON-JENNINGS-
1247 PM EST TUE JAN 6 2009

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL INDIANA.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT.

DRIZZLE OR LIGHT RAIN MAY EVENTUALLY MIX WITH WET SNOW LATE
TONIGHT. NO ACCUMULATION IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY.

THERE IS A CHANCE OF SNOW ON WEDNESDAY. LITTLE MEASURABLE SNOW IS
EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. THERE IS ANOTHER CHANCE FOR SNOW FRIDAY
NIGHT INTO SATURDAY.

.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, Delaware

When
January 6, 7:14 PM EST to 11:14 PM EST
Where
Delaware County, 1.2 mi NNW of Mayfield to 1.33 mi SW of Morningside
Cause
Heavy Rain / Snow Melt
Reported by
Other Federal Agency
Coordinates
40.197, -85.375

Rainfall and warm temperatures that occurred on and off during the second half of December and above normal temperatures through January 4th led to slightly greater than bank full conditions on the White River, affecting Delaware County at and near Muncie. This event was very short lived.

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

More

Every storm in Indiana in 2009Every state in 2009This day in weather historyWarnings 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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 152652.