Indiana, 2011

Lake-Effect Snow in Indiana, January 11 to 12, 2011

January 11 to 12, 2011 · NWS IWX · 1 event in 1 county or zone

Increasing northerly flow behind a departing storm system set the stage for an intense lake effect snow band over LaPorte County late January 11th into the first half of January 12th. Snowfall amounts of 6-12 inches were common across much of the county.

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 IWX wrote it up.

Increasing northerly flow behind a departing storm system set the stage for an intense lake effect snow band over LaPorte County late January 11th into the first half of January 12th. Snowfall amounts of 6-12 inches were common across much of the county.

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 11, 6:30 PM CST, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 11, 6:30 PM CST, 1 hour 30 minutes before
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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 11, 3:05 PM CST, 4 hours 55 minutes before
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
405 PM EST TUE JAN 11 2011

INZ005>009-013-015>018-020-022>027-032>034-MIZ078>081-OHZ001-002-004-
005-015-016-024-025-122115-
ELKHART-LAGRANGE-STEUBEN-NOBLE-DE KALB-PULASKI-FULTON IN-KOSCIUSKO-
WHITLEY-ALLEN IN-WHITE-CASS IN-MIAMI-WABASH-HUNTINGTON-WELLS-ADAMS-
GRANT-BLACKFORD-JAY-CASS MI-ST. JOSEPH MI-BRANCH-HILLSDALE-WILLIAMS-
FULTON OH-DEFIANCE-HENRY-PAULDING-PUTNAM-VAN WERT-ALLEN OH-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ELKHART...GOSHEN...LAGRANGE...TOPEKA...
ANGOLA...KENDALLVILLE...LIGONIER...AUBURN...GARRETT...WINAMAC...
FRANCESVILLE...ROCHESTER...WARSAW...WINONA LAKE...COLUMBIA CITY...
SOUTH WHITLEY...FORT WAYNE...MONTICELLO...BROOKSTON...LOGANSPORT...
PERU...WABASH...NORTH MANCHESTER...HUNTINGTON...BLUFFTON...OSSIAN...
DECATUR...BERNE...MARION...HARTFORD CITY...MONTPELIER...PORTLAND...
DOWAGIAC...CASSOPOLIS...STURGIS...THREE RIVERS...COLDWATER...
HILLSDALE...BRYAN...WAUSEON...ARCHBOLD...DEFIANCE...NAPOLEON...
PAULDING...ANTWERP...OTTAWA...PANDORA...VAN WERT...DELPHOS...LIMA
405 PM EST TUE JAN 11 2011

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHWEST OHIO...
NORTHERN INDIANA AND SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 3 TO 6 INCHES ARE EXPECTED BY EARLY
TONIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

SEVERAL WEAK DISTURBANCES MAY BRING PERIODS OF ACCUMULATING SNOW
FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SNOWFALL REPORTS WILL BE GREATLY APPRECIATED TODAY AND TONIGHT.

&&

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR UPDATES...OR
CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT WEATHER.GOV/IWX

INZ003-004-012-014-MIZ077-122115-
LA PORTE-ST. JOSEPH IN-STARKE-MARSHALL-BERRIEN-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...MICHIGAN CITY...LA PORTE...SOUTH BEND...
MISHAWAKA...KNOX...NORTH JUDSON...PLYMOUTH...BREMEN...NILES...
BENTON HARBOR...ST. JOSEPH...BUCHANAN
405 PM EST TUE JAN 11 2011 /305 PM CST TUE JAN 11 2011/

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF NORTHERN INDIANA
AND SOUTHWEST LOWER MICHIGAN.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

WIDESPREAD ACCUMULATING SNOW WILL TRANSITION TO A BAND OF LAKE
EFFECT SNOW TONIGHT. SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 2 TO 4 INCHES ARE
EXPECTED BY THIS EVENING...WITH ADDITIONAL SIGNIFICANT LAKE EFFECT
SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OVERNIGHT...MAINLY IN SOUTHWEST BERRIEN...
LAPORTE AND STARKE COUNTIES.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

A BAND OF LAKE EFFECT SNOW IS EXPECTED TO SHIFT SLOWLY EAST
THROUGH BERRIEN COUNTY AND INTO ST. JOSEPH AND MARSHALL COUNTIES WEDNESDAY.
TOTAL LAKE EFFECT SNOW ACCUMULATIONS OF 8 TO 12 INCHES ARE
POSSIBLE BY LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT...WITH LOCALLY HIGHER AMOUNTS
POSSIBLE.

SEVERAL WEAK DISTURBANCES MAY BRING PERIODS OF ACCUMULATING SNOW
FRIDAY THROUGH TUESDAY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SNOWFALL REPORTS WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED THROUGH THIS WEEK.

&&

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR UPDATES...OR
CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT WEATHER.GOV/IWX

LMZ043-046-122115-
NEW BUFFALO MI TO ST JOSEPH MI-MICHIGAN CITY IN TO NEW BUFFALO MI-
405 PM EST TUE JAN 11 2011

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR THE NEARSHORE WATERS OF
SOUTHEASTERN LAKE MICHIGAN.

.DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT

A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT LATE TONIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY

A SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT THROUGH WEDNESDAY NIGHT.

&&

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO FOR FURTHER DETAILS OR UPDATES...OR
CHECK OUR WEB SITE AT WEATHER.GOV/IWX/?N=MARINE

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 11, 6:30 PM CST, 1 hour 30 minutes before
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Local storm report, Jan 11, 6:34 PM CST, 1 hour 26 minutes before
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Local storm report, Jan 11, 6:35 PM CST, 1 hour 25 minutes before
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Local storm report, Jan 11, 6:36 PM CST, 1 hour 24 minutes before
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Local storm report, Jan 11, 6:41 PM CST, 1 hour 19 minutes before
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Local storm report, Jan 11, 7:33 PM CST, 27 minutes before
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Event by event

1 lake-effect snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Lake-Effect Snow, La Porte

When
January 11, 8:00 PM CST to January 12, 11:00 AM CST
Where
La Porte forecast zone
Reported by
Amateur Radio

An intense lake effect snow band set up over the area during the evening hours of January 11th, and continued through much of the next morning. Snowfall rates of 1-2 inches per hour were common within this band, with Michigan City reporting around a foot of total snow accumulation and 8.1 in La Porte. This event created hazardous driving conditions with accidents and slide-offs reported.

What these are

Lake-Effect Snow
Heavy snow in bands downwind of a large lake as cold air crosses warmer water.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Indiana in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Indiana, January 2011

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: 267823.