An upper level disturbance produced freezing rain across central Indiana during the evening of January 11 and early morning of January 12 across central Indiana. 2 inches of ice were common.
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.
An upper level disturbance produced freezing rain across central Indiana during the evening of January 11 and early morning of January 12 across central Indiana. Most of the freezing rain fell north of I-70, where 0.1 to 0.2 inches of ice were common. Temperatures around freezing helped keep areas south of I-70 from accumulating a lot of ice. As colder air moved in during the early morning of January 12, some accumulating light snow fell across far northern sections of central Indiana.
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 11, 3:29 PM EST, 1 hour 1 minute earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN 329 PM EST SUN JAN 11 2015 .UPDATE... THE AVIATION SECTION HAS BEEN UPDATED BELOW. && .SYNOPSIS... ISSUED AT 234 PM EST SUN JAN 11 2015 A FRONTAL SYSTEM IS EXPECTED TO PASS OVER THE AREA TONIGHT INTO MONDAY MORNING. IN THE WAKE OF THIS FRONT...A LARGE HIGH PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA FOR THE REST OF NEXT WEEK. && .NEAR TERM /REST OF THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT/... ISSUED AT 234 PM EST SUN JAN 11 2015 RADAR INDICATES LIGHT PRECIPITATION STARTING TO DEVELOP ACROSS THE AREA AS INITIAL BAND OF LIFT MOVES THROUGH. SURFACE REPORTS INDICATE PRECIPITATION IS MIXED...RANGING FROM LIGHT SNOW...SLEET...FREEZING RAIN...AND LIGHT RAIN. STRONGER LIFT IS PROGGED TO BEGIN MOVING INTO THE AREA AFTER 112200Z...SO EXPECTING PRECIPITATION TO BECOME MORE WIDESPREAD TOWARDS EVENING. SURFACE WET BULBS ARE HOVERING AROUND 30 DEGREES FOR THE MOST PART...SO SURFACE TEMPERATURES WILL PROBABLY COOL A FEW DEGREES ONCE THE STEADIER PRECIPITATION STARTS. WARM ADVECTION ALOFT LOOKED PRETTY STRONG BASED ON THIS MORNING/S UPPER AIR...SO SUSPECT ONLY ABOUT THE NORTHERN THIRD OF THE FORECAST AREA WILL SEE ANY PROLONGED PERIODS OF SLEET OR SNOW TONIGHT. FARTHER SOUTH...APPEARS PRECIPITATION TYPES WILL MAINLY BE FREEZING RAIN OR RAIN. WHERE SURFACE FREEZING LINE WILL END UP TONIGHT DIFFICULT TO PREDICT WITH WARM ADVECTION AND EVAPORATIVE COOLING...BUT PROGGED WET BULBS SUGGESTS THE SOUTHERN THIRD TO HALF OF THE FORECAST AREA MAY RISE ABOVE FREEZING TONIGHT. PINNING DOWN EXACTLY WHERE THE FREEZING LINE WILL SET UP WILL COME DOWN TO NOWCASTING TO SEE HOW TEMPERATURES ACTUALLY BEHAVE ONCE THE STEADIER PRECIPITATION STARTS. APPEARS WARM ADVECTION WILL PROBABLY CONTINUE INTO THE EARLY MORNING HOURS OF MONDAY BEFORE CUTTING OFF...SO PRECIPITATION TYPE TRENDS MAY TEND TO REVERSE ITSELF AS DAYBREAK APPROACHES. WILL LET THE CURRENT HEADLINES RIDE AS IS GIVEN THE FACT THAT THE EVENT IS JUST GETTING STARTED...HOWEVER BASED ON HOW THE WET BULBS ARE TRENDING...THE MAIN ICE THREAT MAY BE A LITTLE NORTH OF WHAT THE EARLIER FORECASTS INDICATED...ALONG WITH LOWER SNOW ACCUMULATIONS. THINK TEMPERATURES WILL HOLD ONCE THE STEADIER PRECIPITATION GETS GOING. && .SHORT TERM /MONDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... ISSUED AT 234 PM EST SUN JAN 11 2015 WILL KEEP POPS RATHER HIGH ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH THE MORNING HOURS ON MONDAY AS THERE STILL SOME LIFT AROUND AT THAT TIME. AS COLD AIR ADVECTS INTO THE AREA...PRECIPITATION SHOULD TREND TOWARDS ALL SNOW. ANY ADDITIONAL ACCUMULATIONS OF SNOW OR ICE SHOULD BE LIGHT AS LIFT TAPERS OFF. AFTER MONDAY...THE REST OF THE SHORT TERM LOOKS QUIET AS A LARGE SURFACE HIGH MOVES INTO THE AREA. QUICK LOOK AT LOW LEVEL THICKNESS PROGS SUGGEST THE GFS MOS MAY BE TOO WARM WITH THE LOWS MONDAY NIGHT...OTHERWISE THE GUIDANCE LOOKS GOOD. && .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY/... ISSUED AT 224 PM EST SUN JAN 11 2015 DRY WEATHER WITH WARMING TEMPERATURES IN STORE FOR THE LONG TERM. DETERMINISTIC MODELS WAYS APART WITH UPPER SYSTEM NEXT WEEK...BUT ALL HAVE DEEPER MOISTURE AND QPF WELL TO OUR NORTH. TEMPERATURES WILL START OFF BELOW NORMAL WITH SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE FROM THE SOUTHERN PLAINS TO THE OHIO IN THE WAKE OF THE ARCTIC FRONT. BY WEEKEND THE HIGH PRESSURE RIDGE WILL BE FROM THE SOUTHEASTERN STATES NORTHEAST ACROSS THE ATLANTIC. THIS WILL DRAW SOUTHERLY FLOW AND WARMER TEMPERATURES TO CENTRAL INDIANA. 12Z SUPERBLEND HAS THE RIGHT IDEA REGARDING TRENDS WITH AFTERNOON HIGHS ONLY IN THE 20S AND 30S ON THURSDAY TO MOSTLY THE 40S BY SUNDAY. && .AVIATION /DISCUSSION FOR THE 112100Z TAF UPDATE/... ISSUED AT 329 PM EST SUN JAN 11 2015 LOOKS LIKE FREEZING RAIN WILL HOLD OFF A BIT LONGER AT KIND SO DELAYED TEMPO GROUP TIL 21Z. ALSO BASED ON UPSTREAM OBSERVATIONS REMOVED THE SLEET MENTION AND WENT JUST FREEZING RAIN. PREVIOUS DISCUSSION FOLLOWS... VFR CONDITIONS EXPECTED IN SCATTERED SHOWERS THROUGH 22Z-23Z. BASED ON MODEL SOUNDINGS AND SURFACE LATEST OBS...LAF SHOULD SEE THE SHOWERS IN THE FORM OF SLEET. MEANWHILE...IND AND HUF SHOULD SEE FREEZING RAIN OR SLEET IN ANY SHOWERS AND BMG FREEZING RAIN. THE BULK OF THE PRECIPITATION SHOULD MOVE IN AFTER 22-23Z PER RADAR TRENDS AND RAPID REFRESH REFLECTIVITY PROGS. WILL GO WITH PRECIP IN PREVAILING GROUP AND FLYING CONDITIONS REDUCED TO IFR WITH THE STEADY PRECIP. PRECIPITATION SHOULD HANG AROUND THROUGH THE NIGHT WITH LAF CHANGING TO SNOW AND THE OTHER SITES GRADUALLY TRANSITIONING FROM FROM FREEZING RAIN TO SLEET AND FINALLY SNOW BY MORNING. CONDITIONS SHOULD IMPROVE TO MVFR AFTER 18Z AT IND TOMORROW AS THE PRECIPITATION ENDS. WINDS WILL REMAIN 10 KNOTS OR LESS THROUGHOUT TONIGHT. DIRECTION WILL CHANGE FROM SOUTH TO WEST AFTER 06Z. WINDS WILL THEN SHIFT TO NORTH AND NORTHWEST AS AN ARCTIC FRONT MOVES THROUGH FROM NORTHWEST TO SOUTHEAST AFTER 09Z TONIGHT. && .IND WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY FROM 7 AM TO 1 PM EST MONDAY FOR INZ037- 039>042-045>049-051>057. ICE STORM WARNING UNTIL 7 AM EST MONDAY FOR INZ037-039>042- 045>049-051>057. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 1 PM EST MONDAY FOR INZ021-028>031- 035-036-038-043-044-063>065-071-072. WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY UNTIL 1 PM EST MONDAY FOR INZ060>062- 067>070. && SYNOPSIS...JAS NEAR TERM...JAS SHORT TERM...JAS LONG TERM...NIELD AVIATION...MK/50 VISIT US AT HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/IND FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK...TWITTER AND YOUTUBE AT: WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/NWSINDIANAPOLIS WWW.TWITTER.COM/NWSINDIANAPOLIS WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/NWSINDIANAPOLIS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN 447 AM EST SUN JAN 11 2015 INZ021-028>031-035-036-038-043-044-121000- CARROLL-WARREN-TIPPECANOE-CLINTON-HOWARD-FOUNTAIN-MONTGOMERY- TIPTON-VERMILLION-PARKE- 447 AM EST SUN JAN 11 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL INDIANA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. OUTLOOK: A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT FOR THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH MONDAY MORNING. HAZARDS: FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET IS EXPECTED THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING BEFORE CHANGING OVER TO ALL SNOW OVERNIGHT. BY MONDAY MORNING 1 TO 3 INCHES OF SNOW WILL BE POSSIBLE ALONG WITH A SOME LIGHT ICING. SURFACES WILL BECOME SLICK. DISCUSSION: AN UPPER LEVEL WEATHER DISTURBANCE WILL BRING MIXED PRECIPITATION TO CENTRAL INDIANA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. A WEAK COLD FRONT WILL CROSS INDIANA OVERNIGHT...CHANGING ANY OF THE PRECIPITATION TO SNOW. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. OUTLOOK: SNOW WILL CONTINUE ON MONDAY MORNING...RESULTING IN DIFFICULT TRAVEL CONDITIONS. SUB ZERO WIND CHILLS WILL RETURN ON TUESDAY NIGHT. DISCUSSION: A COLD FRONT AND AN UPPER SYSTEM WILL BRING A WINTRY MIX OF PRECIPITATION TO THE AREA SUNDAY AFTERNOON INTO MONDAY. THE WINTRY MIX WILL CHANGE TO ALL SNOW BY MONDAY AFTERNOON. COLDER AIR WILL THEN MOVE BACK INTO THE AREA...WITH SUBZERO WIND CHILLS AT TIMES THROUGH MID-WEEK. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SNOW AND SLEET AMOUNTS SUNDAY INTO MONDAY. && MORE INFORMATION...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER...HYDROLOGICAL AND CLIMATE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND...AT HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/IND (ALL LOWERCASE) INZ060>065-067>072-121000- SULLIVAN-GREENE-MONROE-BROWN-BARTHOLOMEW-DECATUR-KNOX-DAVIESS- MARTIN-LAWRENCE-JACKSON-JENNINGS- 447 AM EST SUN JAN 11 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL INDIANA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. OUTLOOK: A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT THIS AFTERNOON THROUGH MONDAY MORNING. HAZARDS: FREEZING RAIN AND RAIN IS EXPECTED ACROSS THE AREA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. A WEAK COLD FRONT WILL CROSS INDIANA OVERNIGHT...CHANCE ALL THE PRECIPITATION TO SNOW. SURFACES WILL BECOME SLICK. DISCUSSION: AN UPPER LEVEL WEATHER DISTURBANCE WILL BRING MIXED PRECIPITATION TO CENTRAL INDIANA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. A WEAK COLD FRONT WILL CROSS INDIANA OVERNIGHT...CHANGING ANY OF THE PRECIPITATION TO SNOW. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. OUTLOOK: A WINTRY MIX OF FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET...WITH PERHAPS SOME LIGHT SNOW...WILL BEGIN SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE INTO MONDAY. ROADS WILL BECOME SLICK AND HAZARDOUS BY SUNDAY EVENING...AND THESE CONDITIONS WILL PERSIST INTO MONDAY. COLDER AIR WILL THEN MOVE IN THROUGH MID-WEEK. DISCUSSION: A COLD FRONT AND AN UPPER SYSTEM WILL BRING A WINTRY MIX OF PRECIPITATION TO THE AREA SUNDAY AFTERNOON INTO MONDAY. THE WINTRY MIX WILL CHANGE TO ALL SNOW BY MONDAY AFTERNOON. COLDER AIR WILL THEN MOVE BACK INTO THE AREA. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SLEET AND ICE ACCUMULATIONS SUNDAY AFTERNOON INTO MONDAY. && MORE INFORMATION...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER...HYDROLOGICAL AND CLIMATE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND...AT HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/IND (ALL LOWERCASE) INZ037-039>042-045>049-051>057-121000- BOONE-HAMILTON-MADISON-DELAWARE-RANDOLPH-PUTNAM-HENDRICKS-MARION- HANCOCK-HENRY-VIGO-CLAY-OWEN-MORGAN-JOHNSON-SHELBY-RUSH- 447 AM EST SUN JAN 11 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL INDIANA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. OUTLOOK: AN ICE STORM WARNING IS IN EFFECT THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS IN EFFECT ON MONDAY MORNING. HAZARDS: AROUND ONE QUARTER OF AN INCH OF FREEZING RAIN IS EXPECTED ALONG THE I-70 CORRIDOR...RESULTING IN VERY SLIPPERY ROADS LATE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. A WEAK COLD FRONT WILL PUSH ACROSS THE STATE LATE TONIGHT AND CHANGE ALL PRECIPITATION TO SNOW BY MONDAY MORNING...RESULTING IN SLIPPERY ROADS. DISCUSSION: AN UPPER LEVEL WEATHER DISTURBANCE WILL BRING MIXED PRECIPITATION TO CENTRAL INDIANA THIS AFTERNOON AND EVENING. A WEAK COLD FRONT WILL CROSS INDIANA OVERNIGHT...CHANGING ANY OF THE PRECIPITATION TO SNOW. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. OUTLOOK: A WINTRY MIX OF SNOW AND SLEET...WITH PERHAPS SOME LIGHT FREEZING RAIN...WILL BEGIN SUNDAY AFTERNOON AND CONTINUE INTO MONDAY. SLICK AREAS WILL DEVELOP ON ROADS BY SUNDAY EVENING AND PERSIST INTO MONDAY. WIND CHILLS COLDER THAN 10 BELOW WILL RETURN TUESDAY NIGHT. DISCUSSION: A COLD FRONT AND AN UPPER SYSTEM WILL BRING A WINTRY MIX OF PRECIPITATION TO THE AREA SUNDAY AFTERNOON INTO MONDAY. THE WINTRY MIX WILL CHANGE TO ALL SNOW BY MONDAY AFTERNOON. COLDER AIR WILL THEN MOVE BACK INTO THE AREA...WITH SUBZERO WIND CHILLS AT TIMES THROUGH MID-WEEK. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTERS ARE ENCOURAGED TO REPORT SNOW AND SLEET AMOUNTS SUNDAY INTO MONDAY. && MORE INFORMATION...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER...HYDROLOGICAL AND CLIMATE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND...AT HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/IND (ALL LOWERCASE) PUMA
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
308 PM EST SUN JAN 11 2015
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0245 PM FREEZING RAIN 3 N KOKOMO 40.52N 86.12W
01/11/2015 E0.00 INCH HOWARD IN TRAINED SPOTTER
LIGHT RAIN STARTING TO FREEZE ON VEHICLES AT 931 AND
300 N. A TRACE HAS ACCUMULATED.
&&
MMBPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
311 PM EST SUN JAN 11 2015
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0300 PM FREEZING RAIN CLINTON 39.66N 87.41W
01/11/2015 E0.00 INCH VERMILLION IN TRAINED SPOTTER
A TRACE HAS ACCUMULATED
&&
MMBPRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
417 PM EST SUN JAN 11 2015
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0400 PM FREEZING RAIN 3 N WEST LAFAYETTE 40.49N 86.91W
01/11/2015 E0.00 INCH TIPPECANOE IN TRAINED SPOTTER
GLAZE OF FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET ON SIDEWALKS AND
ELEVATED SURFACES. CURRENTLY RECEIVING A FREEZING RAIN
AND SLEET MIX. ESTIMATE A TRACE OF ACCUMULATION.
&&
MMBThe national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
3 ice storm. Local standard time, as filed.
Three tenths of an inch of freezing rain had accumulated in the Anderson area by within an hour after midnight during the early morning of the 12th of January. No other impacts were noted.
A quarter of an inch of freezing rain had accumulated in and near the Tipton area by the evening of the 11th of January. Roads were reported as messy as US Highway 31 Northbound approaching County Road 550 was closed due to multiple slide-offs during the afternoon.
A quarter of an inch of freezing rain had accumulated in the New Castle area by the late evening of the 11th of January. Three tenths of an inch had accumulated by shortly after midnight northwest of the Straughn area. Slippery roads and sidewalks were noted.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Indiana in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Indiana, January 2015
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: 557990, 557961, 557982.