Indiana, 2010

Winter Weather in Indiana, December 12, 2010

December 12, 2010 · NWS PAH · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

The first blast of winter weather followed a strong cold front that swept rapidly east across the Mississippi and Lower Ohio Valleys. Behind the front, widespread snow showers and very windy conditions produced difficult travel conditions.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 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
11
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
None recorded
Events
6

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 PAH wrote it up.

The first blast of winter weather followed a strong cold front that swept rapidly east across the Mississippi and Lower Ohio Valleys. Behind the front, widespread snow showers and very windy conditions produced difficult travel conditions. Northwest winds ranged from 20 to 30 mph with higher gusts. Peak wind gusts were as high as 41 mph at Evansville. Snow accumulated from one to three inches across southwest Indiana. The lowest amounts were around an inch from Boonville north and east. Amounts of two to three inches covered the remainder of southwest Indiana, including Evansville and Princeton. The snow came down rather heavily at times during the afternoon, reducing visibility to around one-half mile for a couple hours. The Evansville Police Department reported a record-setting 50 accidents on the day of the storm. There were eleven people injured in those accidents. The Vanderburgh County sheriff office reported an additional 88 calls, of which roughly half were on Interstate 164. A vehicle slid into a police cruiser that was stopped at the scene of an accident. Numerous accidents on U.S. 41 in Gibson County resulted in some injuries and the closing of the highway near Fort Branch. Strong winds caused blowing and drifting that produced slippery spots well after the snow ended. Blowing snow reduced visibility sharply in open farm country, even after the snow ended.

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 Paducah, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 11, 2:50 PM CST, 17 hours 10 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 11, 2:50 PM CST, 17 hours 10 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 11, 4:06 PM CST, 15 hours 54 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

6 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Weather, Gibson

When
December 12, 8:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Gibson forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
38.312, -87.585 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Pike

When
December 12, 8:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Pike forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
38.399, -87.232 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Posey

When
December 12, 8:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Posey forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
38.022, -87.868 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Spencer

When
December 12, 8:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Spencer forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
38.014, -87.008 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Vanderburgh

When
December 12, 8:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Vanderburgh forecast zone
Injuries
0 direct, 11 indirect
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
38.025, -87.586 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Warrick

When
December 12, 8:00 AM CST to 9:00 PM CST
Where
Warrick forecast zone
Reported by
Trained Spotter
Coordinates
38.092, -87.272 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Weather
Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Indiana in 2010Every state in 2010This day in weather historyWarnings in Indiana, December 2010

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: 266739, 266740, 266742, 266743, 266744, 266745.