A band of heavy snowfall pushed eastward into and through northern portions of central Indiana during the afternoon and evening of December 29th. The band was oriented from west-northwest to east-southeast.
Every event with a place to put it; 4 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.
A band of heavy snowfall pushed eastward into and through northern portions of central Indiana during the afternoon and evening of December 29th. The band was oriented from west-northwest to east-southeast. A few locations saw snowfall of between 6 to 7 inches.
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 Dec 29, 12:31 PM EST, 1 hour 29 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Indianapolis IN 1231 PM EST Fri Dec 29 2017 .UPDATE... The Aviation section has been updated below. && .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 326 AM EST Fri Dec 29 2017 Snow will arrive this afternoon for much of central Indiana in time to make a mess for the evening commute. A reinforcing shot of arctic air will arrive on Saturday and a large upper trough will keep the flow of dangerously cold air coming through the entire forecast period. Right now the coldest temperatures appear to be lining up for Monday night/early Tuesday morning where below zero is expected across the entire area, and much of the area will see low temperatures below 10 below zero and wind chills of 20 to 30 below zero. && .NEAR TERM /Today and Tonight/... Issued at 1145 AM EST Fri Dec 29 2017 After review of early arriving morning data and convection allowing models, have made minor adjustments to QPF and resultant snowfall amounts. This will generally keep ranges in the advisory area to 2-4 inches, but did nudge the amounts upward slightly. A few isolated 5 inch totals are not out of the question as well, especially over northwestern portions of the area. Previous discussion follows. Issued at 637 AM EST Fri Dec 29 2017 Quick update to keep these early morning flurries north of I-70 around until 9 am. Small adjustments made to the sky cover, but nothing resulting in a significant change. Previous discussion follows... Forecast focus is on timing of snowfall and amounts with system arriving today. Good band of frontogenesis moves into the area from the northwest this afternoon along with some good lapse rates and possibly a few hours of saturation in a decent dendritic growth zone. Upper forcing moves in during the evening before both get shunted off to the east late tonight. With the colder temperatures and aforementioned lapse rates looks like snowfall ratios of between 18 to 1 and 20 to 1 will be common, so another light and fluffy snow that's quick to accumulate. For timing, models are in pretty good agreement on arrival in the northwest counties around 1-2 pm and quickly spreading south and east from there. For amounts looking at 3 to 4 inches in the northwest, with 2 to 4 in most locations north of I-74 and a sharp cutoff south of there. Will issue advisory for this area generally north of I-74 starting at 2 pm and running through 4 am, although most accumulating snow should be finished over the western and possibly central counties by around 1 am. With a relatively weak pressure gradient over the area, do not expect much in the way of drifting or blowing snow. The biggest hazards will likely be the reduction in visibilities during the heaviest snowfall that could occur during the evening commute, and the slick roads developing during that time as well. && .SHORT TERM /Saturday through Sunday night/... Issued at 326 AM EST Fri Dec 29 2017 Accumulating snow should be just about out of the area by 7 am Saturday, but could see some flurries hanging around in the cyclonic flow. Temperatures won't warm much if at all Saturday with the new snowfall on the ground and a reinforcing shot of cold arctic air arriving. Saturday night looking at lows again dropping below zero for much of the area, with single digits in the south. Highs Sunday will only reach the single digits northwest to the upper teens southeast, and Sunday night lows look to drop several degrees below zero for half of the forecast area, with near zero expected in the southernmost counties. Below zero wind chills will be common throughout the short term, and over most of the area will drop to 10 to 20 below for Saturday afternoon on. This is a high confidence forecast with good model agreement and an upper pattern that will continue to usher dangerously cold air into central Indiana well into the long term. && .LONG TERM /Monday through Thursday/... Issued at 211 AM EST Fri Dec 29 2017 Very cold air will remain to be the headline into the New Year. Looks like it will continue to be very cold across the area, and get colder as mid week approaches. Looking at the 500 hPa anomalies, cold air reinforcement comes into the Great Lakes region beginning 12Z/3Jan18 efficiently amplifying the mid/upper level trough meridionally into the southeast states. This means that the every- other-day marching of cold fronts through the area will continue during the fist week of 2018. High pressure at the surface will be extending eastward into Indiana from the northern Plains on 01Jan18 and move southward and eastward through Tuesday night allowing daytime temperatures Wednesday to reach into the upper teens where there is snow cover to the mid 20s along the southern counties of the forecast area. This will be just ahead of the next in the parade of cold fronts that will move southeast through the region reinforcing the cold air back to 10 degrees north to upper teens south on Thursday. && .AVIATION /Discussion for the 29/18Z TAFs/... Issued at 1227 PM EST Fri Dec 29 2017 MVFR ceilings likely much of the TAF period. Periods of IFR visibilities likely in snow mainly this afternoon and evening. Northwest/southeast oriented band of snowfall noted from the eastern Dakotas into Illinois this afternoon. Expect this to move through the area this afternoon and evening and bring accumulating snowfall to the sites, save perhaps Bloomington. Ceilings upstream are predominantly MVFR, and expect this to continue, although a few dips into IFR during the most intense portion of the snowfall cannot be ruled out. Visibilities will fluctuate but likely drop into IFR range at times during the snow. Some recovery of ceilings after snowfall moves out late tonight can be expected, although it appears likely conditions will remain high end MVFR. Winds will be less than 10KT through the period and occasionally variable. && .IND WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Weather Advisory until 4 AM EST Saturday for INZ021- 028>031-035>049-054>057. && SYNOPSIS...CP NEAR TERM...CP/Nield SHORT TERM...CP LONG TERM...DM AVIATION...Nield
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Indianapolis IN 544 AM EST Fri Dec 29 2017 INZ021-028>031-035>049-054>057-301045- Carroll-Warren-Tippecanoe-Clinton-Howard-Fountain-Montgomery-Boone- Tipton-Hamilton-Madison-Delaware-Randolph-Vermillion-Parke-Putnam- Hendricks-Marion-Hancock-Henry-Morgan-Johnson-Shelby-Rush- Including the cities of Lafayette, Frankfort, Kokomo, Crawfordsville, Anderson, Muncie, Indianapolis, and Shelbyville 544 AM EST Fri Dec 29 2017 This hazardous weather outlook is for central Indiana. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight. Outlook: Snow will be moving into the region this afternoon and tonight. Accumulations of 1 to 3 inches is expected, with up to 4 inches possible in northwest areas Hazards: Slick and snow covered roads. Reduced visibilities can occur in heavier snowfall. Timing: Snow will enter northwest and western areas by 2:00 p.m. and central and eastern areas between 3:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. Discussion: Snow will spread across much of central Indiana this afternoon through tonight. Snow could be moderate at times rapidly reducing visibilities late this afternoon and evening causing slick and snow covered roads. Snow is expected to impact travel into tonight. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday. Outlook: No hazardous weather is expected at this time. Discussion: Frigidly cold air will be reinforced across the area during the period. The coldest temperatures are expected to be New Year's Day with highs of 0 to 5 above, and Monday night when lows fall to -10 to -15 degrees. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not anticipated. && More information, along with other weather, hydrological and climate information can be found at http://weather.gov/ind INZ051>053-060>065-067>072-301045- Vigo-Clay-Owen-Sullivan-Greene-Monroe-Brown-Bartholomew-Decatur-Knox- Daviess-Martin-Lawrence-Jackson-Jennings- Including the cities of Terre Haute, Bloomington, Columbus, Vincennes, Bedford, and Seymour 544 AM EST Fri Dec 29 2017 This hazardous weather outlook is for central Indiana. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight. Outlook: Snow is expected to spread across the area later this afternoon and tonight. General accumulations are expected to be an inch or less. Hazards: Snow will impact travel across the area possibly creating slick roads. Timing: Light snow is expected to move across the area between 2:00 p.m. and 4 p.m. and continue through tonight. Discussion: Light snow will begin across much of the area this afternoon and continue through tonight with general accumulations an inc or less. There could be enough snow from Terre Haute southeast through Bloomington and Spencer northward that could cause slick and snow covered roads. Caution should be used with travel through tonight. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Saturday through Thursday. Outlook: No hazardous weather is expected at this time. Discussion: Frigidly cold temperatures will be the rule though the period. The coldest temperatures are expected New Year's Day with highs between 10-15 degrees and Monday night as lows fall to between 0 and -10 degrees. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not anticipated. && More information, along with other weather, hydrological and climate information can be found at http://weather.gov/ind
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
4 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.
Heavy snowfall of 6.6 inches fell approximately 5 miles north-northeast of Frankfort. No reports of any impacts were received.
Heavy snowfall of 6.0 inches fell approximately 4 miles west of Tipton. Six inches of snow was also reported by the Windfall Fire Department in Windfall. No reports of any impacts were received.
Heavy snowfall of 6.3 inches fell approximately 2 miles north of Country Club Heights. No reports of any impacts were received.
Heavy snowfall of 6.0 inches fell approximately 1 mile north-northeast of Yorktown. No reports of any impacts were received.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Indiana in 2017Every state in 2017This day in weather historyWarnings in Indiana, December 2017
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: 732503, 732504, 732505, 732506.