The first measurable snowfall of the season occurred on the 1st of December across most of central Indiana, as a strongly amplified upper level system pushed eastward over the Ohio Valley that morning. This was a light snowfall affair, with many locations not seeing over an inch of snow.
Every event with a place to put it; 3 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS IND wrote it up.
The first measurable snowfall of the season occurred on the 1st of December across most of central Indiana, as a strongly amplified upper level system pushed eastward over the Ohio Valley that morning. This was a light snowfall affair, with many locations not seeing over an inch of snow. While snowfall was light, the impacts to travel were a bit more significant with numerous accidents and slide-offs reported.
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 1, 2:19 AM EST, 1 hour 41 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN 219 AM EST WED DEC 1 2010 .UPDATE... THE SYNOPSIS...NEAR TERM AND SHORT TERM SECTIONS HAVE BEEN UPDATED BELOW && .SYNOPSIS...COLD AND CLOUDY CONDITIONS ARE EXPECTED TODAY AS NORTHWEST FLOW CONTINUES ACROSS INDIANA IN THE WAKE OF YESTERDAYS COLD FRONT. THE ASSOCIATED UPPER TROUGH WILL MOVE ACROSS OUR REGION TODAY...KEEPING CLOUDS AND FLURRIES LINGERING AROUND. HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE PLAINS WILL DOMINATE OUR WEATHER THURSDAY INTO FRIDAY...AND BRING A RETURN OF SOME SUNSHINE IN THE EXTENDED A STRONG UPPER TROUGH WILL CONTINUE OVER EAST CENTRAL CANADA NEAR JAMES BAY AND EXTEND INTO THE NORTHEAST U.S. MODELS BRING A WEAK UPPER DISTURBANCE SOUTHEAST ACROSS OUR REGION AROUND SATURDAY. ANOTHER AND STRONGER UPPER TROUGH WILL ROTATE ACROSS OUR REGION AROUND TUESDAY BRINGING UNSEASONABLY COOL WEATHER BY THE END OF THE FORECAST PERIOD. && .NEAR TERM /TODAY/...SURFACE ANALYSIS EARLY THIS MORNING SHOWS LOW PRESSURE OVER ONTARIO AND COLD NORTHWEST FLOW ACROSS THE UPPER MIDWEST FUNNELING TOWARD INDIANA. IR IMAGES SHOW ABUNDANT CLOUD COVER ACROSS CENTRAL INDIANA AND RADAR MOSAICS CONTINUE TO SHOW A FEW FLURRIES. LITTLE CHANGE TO THE ONGOING PATTERN EXPECTED TODAY. BROAD CYCLONIC FLOW IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE AT THE SURFACE WHILE THE ASSOCIATED DEEP UPPER TROUGH ALOFT PIVOTS EAST DURING THE COURSE OF THE DAY. TIME SECTIONS AND FORECAST SOUNDINGS SHOWS ABUNDANT MOISTURE IN THE LOWER LEVELS...HOWEVER STRONG LIFT IS ABSENT. THUS CLOUDY SKIES WITH MORE SCATTERED FLURRIES ARE EXPECTED FOR MUCH OF THE DAY. GIVEN THE ONGOING COLD AIR ADEVCTION AND 850MB TEMPERATURES HOLDING AROUND -10C...WILL LEAN COOLER THAN THE MAVMOS FOR HIGHS TODAY...CLOSER TO THE 3 HOURLIES INSTEAD. && .SHORT TERM /TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY/... MODELS ARE IN PRETTY GOOD AGREEMENT AND WILL USE A BLEND. MAIN FORECAST CHALLENGE DURING THIS PERIOD WILL BE TEMPS. GFS/NAM PIVOT THE UPPER TROUGH TO THE EAST COAST TONIGHT AND THEN PUSH IT NORTHEAST UP THE COAST. MEANWHILE COOL AND DRY NORTHWEST FLOW PERSISTS IN THE UPPER LEVELS AS RIDGE BUILDS ACROSS THE ROCKIES. THE MAIN UPPER LOW OVER ONTARIO WILL CONTINUE TO SWING UPPER DISTURBANCES ACROSS THE GREAT LAKES AND NORTHEAST...HOWEVER WITH HIGH PRESSURE IN PLACE AT THE SURFACE ALONG WITH A MUCH LESS MOIST LOWER LEVELS TONIGHT AND THURSDAY...THE CLOUDS AND FLURRIES SHOULD COME TO AN END. WITH THE SURFACE RIDGE REMAINING TO OUR WEST TONIGHT...WILL KEEP SKIES CLOUDY UNTIL TRUE ANTI-CYCLONIC FLOW BEGINS. THUS WITH MORE CLOUDS EXPECTED TONIGHT...EXPECT LOWS AT OR ABOVE MAVMOS. FEWER CLOUDS EXPECTED ON THURSDAY AS THE SURFACE RIDGE FINALLY PROGRESSES ACROSS INDIANA...EXTENDING NORTHWARD FROM THE DEEP SOUTH. MEANWHILE ALOFT...RIDGING ACROSS THE ROCKIES BEGINS TO PUSH EASTWARD. A FEW HIGHER LEVEL CLOUDS CANNOT BE RULED OUT AS SOME RIDGE RIDING DISTURBANCES MAY PUSH ACROSS THE STATE. 850MB TEMPS ON THURSDAY WARM TO AROUND -5C...THIS SHOULD RESULT IN SLIGHTLY WARMER HIGH TEMPERATURES...HOWEVER MAVMOS STILL APPEARS TOO WARM GIVEN THE POSSIBILITY OF HIGH CLOUDS AND A LACK OF STRONG WARM AIR ADEVCTION. THUS WILL LEAN TOWARD THE COOLER 3 HOURLY MAVMOS TEMPERATURES FOR HIGHS. UPPER RIDGING CONTINUES TO BUILD ACROSS INDIANA ON THURSDAY NIGHT AND FRIDAY WHILE A WEAK RIDGE OF HIGH PRESSURE REMAINS IN PLACE AT THE SURFACE. TIME HEIGHTS CONTINUE TO SHOW SOME MIDDLE LEVEL MOISTURE IN THE NORTHWEST FLOW ALOFT...THUS A DRY FORECAST IS EXPECTED TO CONTINUE. 850MB TEMPERATURES LOOK TO HOLD STEADY...THUS WILL AIM FOR EXPECTED PERSISTENCE TYPE LOWS ON THURSDAY NIGHT AND HIGHS ON FRIDAY. HERE MAVMOS APPEARS PRETTY CLOSE AND ONLY MINOR ADJUSTMENTS WILL BE NEEDED. && .LONG TERM /FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY/... MODELS MOVE ANOTHER UPPER DISTURBANCE SOUTHEAST ACROSS OUR REGION AROUND SATURDAY. THE 12Z EUROPEAN IS SOMEWHAT STRONGER SLOWER AND HAS MORE PRECIPITATION WITH THIS SYSTEM...WHILE GFS AND GEM HAVE TRENDED FASTER AND WEAKER. HPC CURRENTLY LEANING MORE TOWARDS THE DRY END. STILL LOTS OF UNCERTAINTY ON STRENGTH...SO WILL CONTINUE LOW CHANCE POPS LATE FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY. HAVE ADDED LOW CHANCE POPS SATURDAY NIGHT BASED ON EUROPEAN. FOR NOW WILL KEEP SUNDAY THROUGH TUESDAY DRY. IF EUROPEAN IS CORRECT...WE MAY EVENTUALLY HAVE TO ADD PRECIPITATION INTO SUNDAY. HPC TEMPERATURES SEEM REASONABLE MOST OF THIS PERIOD. WILL GO A LITTLE COLDER MONDAY AND TUESDAY AS ANOTHER UPPER TROUGH ROTATES THROUGH. && .AVIATION.../010600Z TAFS/... LIGHT SNOW AND WIND GUSTS UP TO 20 KTS OUT OF THE WEST WILL PREVAIL FOR A FEW MORE HOURS WITH PASSAGE OF UPPER LEVEL TROUGH. SO...WILL CONTINUE WITH TEMPO AT ALL TAF SITES THROUGH WED 09Z. PRECIP WILL QUICKLY END AFTER THAT...AND WINDS WILL RELAX THROUGH DAYBREAK BEFORE INCREASING AGAIN AROUND MID MORNING. WEST WINDS WILL BE SUSTAINED AT 12 TO 15 KTS WITH GUSTS TO 22 KTS WELL INTO THIS EVENING. MVFR CONDITIONS WILL LINGER THROUGH THE BEGINNING OF TAF PERIOD...BUT WILL THEN GRADUALLY IMPROVE TO VFR CATEGORY THROUGH COURSE OF DAY AS LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES OUT OF FORECAST AREA. && .IND WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && SYNOPSIS...JP/JH NEAR TERM...JP SHORT TERM...JP LONG TERM....JH AVIATION...TDUD
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN 313 AM EST WED DEC 1 2010 INZ021-028>031-035>049-051>057-060>065-067>072-020815- CARROLL-WARREN-TIPPECANOE-CLINTON-HOWARD-FOUNTAIN-MONTGOMERY- BOONE-TIPTON-HAMILTON-MADISON-DELAWARE-RANDOLPH-VERMILLION-PARKE- PUTNAM-HENDRICKS-MARION-HANCOCK-HENRY-VIGO-CLAY-OWEN-MORGAN- JOHNSON-SHELBY-RUSH-SULLIVAN-GREENE-MONROE-BROWN-BARTHOLOMEW- DECATUR-KNOX-DAVIESS-MARTIN-LAWRENCE-JACKSON-JENNINGS- 313 AM EST WED DEC 1 2010 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL INDIANA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. SCATTERED FLURRIES ARE POSSIBLE TODAY. NO ACCUMULATION IS EXPECTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...THURSDAY THROUGH TUESDAY. MIXED RAIN AND SNOW IS POSSIBLE LATE FRIDAY NIGHT AND SATURDAY. LIGHT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS ARE POSSIBLE IN SOME AREAS. THE PRECIPITATION WILL CHANGE OVER TO ALL RAIN SOUTH OF INTERSTATE 70 SATURDAY AFTERNOON. .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) PUMA
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Up to one half inch of snow fell across Putnam County during this winter weather event. Law enforcement reported around 30 reports of slide-offs at one point in the mid-morning. No information on injuries was given. This snow represented the first measurable snowfall of the season.
Up to six tenths of an inch of snow fell across Boone County during this winter weather event. FOX 59 WXIN reported a serious two-vehicle crash near Zionsville that shut down U.S. Highway 421 at State Road 32 around 9 am. One person had to be extricated from one of the vehicles. No information about injuries was given. This snow represented the first measurable snowfall of the season.
Up to a half inch of snow fell across Marion County during this winter weather event. FOX 59 WXIN reported multi-vehicle accidents east of downtown Indianapolis on Interstate 70 and Interstate 465 that resulted in lanes blocked and bumper to bumper traffic for hours. No information on injuries was given. This snow represented the first measurable snowfall of the season.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Indiana in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Indiana, December 2010
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: 273798, 273801, 273802.