Extreme Cold in Indiana, January 8, 2015

Name: Extreme Cold in Indiana, January 8, 2015
Start: 2015-01-08T03:00
End: 2015-01-08T06:00
Location: Indiana

January 8, 2015 · NWS LOT · 1 event in 1 county or zone

An arctic airmass across the region brought single digit highs and below zero lows several days in a row in early January. The coldest period was January 7th through 8th.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 1 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: 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 LOT wrote it up.

An arctic airmass across the region brought single digit highs and below zero lows several days in a row in early January. The coldest period was January 7th through 8th. The low temperature at O'Hare on the 7th was -6 F with a high of 6 F. On the 8th, the temperature fell to -8 F. Wind chills that morning were also quite frigid with numerous sites reporting -20 F to around -30 F.

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 Chicago, IL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 7, 4:01 PM CST, 10 hours 59 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 7, 4:01 PM CST, 10 hours 59 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 7, 3:27 PM CST, 11 hours 33 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

1 extreme cold/wind chill. Local standard time, as filed.

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill, Porter

When: January 8, 3:00 AM CST to 6:00 AM CST
Where: Porter forecast zone
Reported by: ASOS
Coordinates: 41.509, -87.073 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Extreme Cold/Wind Chill: Temperatures or wind chills at or below the local warning criteria, or cold that caused deaths.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Indiana in 2015 Every state in 2015 This day in weather history Warnings in Indiana, January 2015

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: 550211.