Heavy Snow in Indiana, February 14 to 15, 2010

Name: Heavy Snow in Indiana, February 14 to 15, 2010
Start: 2010-02-14T19:00
End: 2010-02-15T09:00
Location: Indiana

February 14 to 15, 2010 · NWS PAH · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

A strong upper level low moved southeast across Missouri, then east across Kentucky. The heaviest snowfall rates were associated with a deformation zone on the north side of the upper low.

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: 1
Injuries: 0
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.

A strong upper level low moved southeast across Missouri, then east across Kentucky. The heaviest snowfall rates were associated with a deformation zone on the north side of the upper low. For a few hours, snowfall rates were about an inch per hour along an axis from Mount Vernon, Illinois east along the Interstate 64 corridor through southwest Indiana. Numerous vehicle accidents occurred on the snow-covered and slippery roads. Accumulations ranged from about four inches in Evansville and Mount Vernon, IN to seven or eight inches across Pike, Warrick, and Spencer Counties. Gusty winds during the late night hours of the 14th and the morning of the 15th caused substantial blowing and drifting. Drifts were reported up to a few feet in the open farm country of the Lower Wabash Valley. A brief period of light freezing drizzle reportedly occurred in a few spots, but this precipitation type amounted to little more than a trace. There was a fatal accident on State Route 261 in Warrick County. A 49-year-old woman died (indirect fatality) from injuries sustained in a head-on crash.

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 Feb 14, 6:35 PM CST, 25 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Feb 14, 6:35 PM CST, 25 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

Hazardous weather outlook, Feb 14, 3:57 PM CST, 3 hours 3 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE PADUCAH KY
357 PM CST SUN FEB 14 2010

ILZ075>078-080>094-INZ081-082-085>088-KYZ001>022-MOZ076-086-087-
100-107>112-114-152200-
JEFFERSON-WAYNE IL-EDWARDS-WABASH-PERRY IL-FRANKLIN-HAMILTON-
WHITE-JACKSON-WILLIAMSON-SALINE-GALLATIN-UNION IL-JOHNSON-POPE-
HARDIN-ALEXANDER-PULASKI-MASSAC-GIBSON-PIKE-POSEY-VANDERBURGH-
WARRICK-SPENCER-FULTON-HICKMAN-CARLISLE-BALLARD-MCCRACKEN-GRAVES-
LIVINGSTON-MARSHALL-CALLOWAY-CRITTENDEN-LYON-TRIGG-CALDWELL-
UNION KY-WEBSTER-HOPKINS-CHRISTIAN-HENDERSON-DAVIESS-MCLEAN-
MUHLENBERG-TODD-PERRY MO-BOLLINGER-CAPE GIRARDEAU-WAYNE MO-CARTER-
RIPLEY-BUTLER-STODDARD-SCOTT-MISSISSIPPI-NEW MADRID-
357 PM CST SUN FEB 14 2010

...WINTER WEATHER EVENT TONIGHT AND MONDAY...

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF SOUTHERN
ILLINOIS...SOUTHWEST INDIANA...WESTERN KENTUCKY AND SOUTHEAST
MISSOURI.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

WINTER STORM WARNINGS AND WINTER WEATHER ADVISORIES HAVE BEEN
POSTED TONIGHT FOR SOUTHWEST INDIANA...WESTERN KENTUCKY...SOUTHERN
ILLINOIS...AND A SMALL PORTION OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI. SNOW TONIGHT
WILL BE HEAVIEST ALONG AND NORTH OF INTERSTATE 64 IN SOUTHWEST
INDIANA AND SOUTHERN ILLINOIS...WHERE AROUND 6 INCHES WILL BE COMMON. THE
LOWEST AMOUNTS WILL BE OVER PARTS OF SOUTHEAST MISSOURI...WHERE AN
INCH OR LESS IS EXPECTED.

PLEASE SEE THE LATEST WINTER WEATHER PRODUCTS ISSUED BY THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN PADUCAH KENTUCKY FOR DETAILS ON THE
COVERAGE...TIMING AND SNOWFALL AMOUNTS ASSOCIATED WITH THIS STORM SYSTEM.

MINOR RIVER FLOODING CONTINUES FROM GRAND CHAIN TO CAIRO ILLINOIS
ON THE OHIO RIVER. PLEASE REFER TO THE LATEST FLOOD STATEMENTS ON
THESE POINTS FOR MORE INFORMATION.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY

SNOW WILL TAPER TO FLURRIES MONDAY MORNING. THE COMBINATION OF
COLDER AIR AND GUSTY WINDS WILL LOWER WIND CHILLS TO AROUND 10
DEGREES IN THE MORNING. SOME MINOR BLOWING AND DRIFTING SNOW WILL
OCCUR...EVEN AFTER THE SNOW ENDS.

ANOTHER WINTER WEATHER EVENT IS POSSIBLE FRIDAY NIGHT AND
SATURDAY. THE STORM TRACK WILL DETERMINE THE AMOUNTS AND TYPES OF
PRECIPITATION. PRELIMINARY THINKING IS THE LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM
WILL TRACK TO OUR SOUTH...BRINGING MAINLY SNOW TO MOST OF THE REGION.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SKYWARN SPOTTERS ARE URGED TO RELAY SNOWFALL REPORTS TO THE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE...ESPECIALLY ONCE THE FIRST INCH HAS FALLEN.

MY

The radar

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

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

6 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Gibson

When: February 14, 7:00 PM CST to February 15, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Gibson forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 38.312, -87.585 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Pike

When: February 14, 7:00 PM CST to February 15, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Pike forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 38.399, -87.232 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Posey

When: February 14, 7:00 PM CST to February 15, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Posey forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 38.022, -87.868 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Spencer

When: February 14, 7:00 PM CST to February 15, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Spencer forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 38.014, -87.008 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Vanderburgh

When: February 14, 7:00 PM CST to February 15, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Vanderburgh forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 38.025, -87.586 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Heavy Snow, Warrick

When: February 14, 7:00 PM CST to February 15, 9:00 AM CST
Where: Warrick forecast zone
Deaths: 0 direct, 1 indirect
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 38.092, -87.272 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

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
Heavy Snow, Warrick	2010-02-15	49	Female	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Indirect

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 2010 Every state in 2010 This day in weather history Warnings in Indiana, February 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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 212441, 212442, 212443, 212444, 212445, 212446.