Heavy Snow in Indiana, December 15 to 17, 2019

Name: Heavy Snow in Indiana, December 15 to 17, 2019
Start: 2019-12-15T14:00
End: 2019-12-17T10:00
Location: Indiana

December 15 to 17, 2019 · NWS IND · 12 events in 12 counties and zones

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 12 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: 2
Injuries: 45
Property damage: $590,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 12

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 IND wrote it up.

A low pressure system brought two periods of heavy snow to central Indiana beginning Sunday afternoon and continuing through Monday night with a break during the day Monday. Snowfall amounts were generally highest around Marion county and the surrounding counties with amounts ranging from 6 to 8 inches. Lower amounts were seen across the rest of central Indiana with some minor icing across south central Indiana. Indiana State Police investigated 336 crashes with 79 causing personal injury. Indianapolis Metro Police Department responded to almost 200 incidents with over 75 slideoffs.

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 Indianapolis, IN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Dec 15, 1:54 PM EST, 6 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Dec 15, 1:54 PM EST, 6 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Dec 15, 4:14 AM EST, 9 hours 46 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

12 heavy snow. Local standard time, as filed.

Heavy Snow, Owen

When: December 15, 2:00 PM EST to December 17, 7:00 AM EST
Where: Owen forecast zone
Injuries: 0 direct, 6 indirect
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 39.313, -86.838 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snowfall amounts ranged from 3.7 to 5.4 inches across the count with the highest across the northeastern portions of the county. Impacts to travel were significant with evening rush hour call load to 911 dispatch 4 to 6 times the average. There were a total of 60 accidents with 6 injuries that were determined to be related to the snow.

Heavy Snow, Putnam

When: December 15, 2:45 PM EST to December 17, 5:45 AM EST
Where: Putnam forecast zone
Property damage: $75,000
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 39.666, -86.845 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snowfall amounts ranged from 5 to has high as 6.5 inches with the highest recorded near Greencastle. At least 20 accidents have been attributed to the snowfall with significant impacts noted during the evening commute on the 16th.

Heavy Snow, Morgan

When: December 15, 3:00 PM EST to December 17, 7:15 AM EST
Where: Morgan forecast zone
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 39.482, -86.446 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snowfall amounts ranged from 6.5 to as high as 8.3 inches. The highest amount was recorded near Mooresville.

Heavy Snow, Johnson

When: December 15, 3:30 PM EST to December 17, 8:00 AM EST
Where: Johnson forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 39.490, -86.102 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snowfall amounts ranged from 6 to 8.1 inches. The highest amount was recorded near Greenwood.

Heavy Snow, Hendricks

When: December 15, 3:30 PM EST to December 17, 6:30 AM EST
Where: Hendricks forecast zone
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 39.770, -86.510 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snowfall amounts ranged from 6 to 7.5 inches. The highest amounts were recorded near Brownsburg.

Heavy Snow, Boone

When: December 15, 4:00 PM EST to December 17, 7:00 AM EST
Where: Boone forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 40.051, -86.469 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snowfall amounts ranged from 5 inches to as high as 7.7 inches over the course of the event. The heaviest amount was recorded near New Ross.

Heavy Snow, Marion

When: December 15, 4:00 PM EST to December 17, 7:00 AM EST
Where: Marion forecast zone
Injuries: 0 direct, 30 indirect
Property damage: $300,000
Reported by: Official NWS Observations
Coordinates: 39.782, -86.138 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snowfall measurements around Marion county ranged from 7 to 8.7 inches. The highest amount was across the northeastern portions of the county. The official measurement for the city of Indianapolis was 7.6 inches. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and State Police responded to at least 300 crashes across the county with at least 30 causing injuries.

Heavy Snow, Hamilton

When: December 15, 5:00 PM EST to December 17, 6:30 AM EST
Where: Hamilton forecast zone
Property damage: $75,000
Reported by: CoCoRaHS
Coordinates: 40.073, -86.052 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snowfall amounts ranged from 7.1 to 8.1 inches across the county. The highest snowfall occurred near Fishers. Hamilton County Emergency Management reported at least 26 snow related crashes occurred across the county during the event.

Heavy Snow, Rush

When: December 15, 5:30 PM EST to December 17, 10:00 AM EST
Where: Rush forecast zone
Injuries: 0 direct, 6 indirect
Property damage: $50,000
Reported by: Emergency Manager
Coordinates: 39.620, -85.466 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snowfall amounts ranged from 4.7 to 6.9 inches. The highest was recorded near Morristown. There were significant impacts to travel during the evening rush hour on the 16th. During the event there were 19 accidents specifically related to the weather with 6 involving injuries.

Heavy Snow, Hancock

When: December 15, 5:45 PM EST to December 17, 7:30 AM EST
Where: Hancock forecast zone
Deaths: 0 direct, 2 indirect
Injuries: 0 direct, 3 indirect
Property damage: $40,000
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 39.824, -85.773 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snowfall amounts ranged from 5.6 inches to as high as 7.5 inches. The highest amount was recorded near McCordsville. A mother and son died in a two crash near the intersection of County Road 200S and 200W at around 6:15 AM on the 16th. The second driver was taken to an area hospital with unspecified injuries. The accident was determined to likely be related to ongoing snow.

Heavy Snow, Henry

When: December 15, 6:00 PM EST to December 17, 8:15 AM EST
Where: Henry forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 39.931, -85.396 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snowfall measurements ranged from 5.5 to 7.5 inches. The highest amount was recorded near Strawtown.

Heavy Snow, Madison

When: December 15, 6:00 PM EST to December 17, 6:15 AM EST
Where: Madison forecast zone
Reported by: Public
Coordinates: 40.162, -85.719 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Snowfall reports ranged from 6 to 7.5 inches. The highest amounts were recorded near Ingalls.

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, Hancock	2019-12-16	54	Female	Vehicle/Towed Trailer	Indirect
Heavy Snow, Hancock	2019-12-16	24	Male	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 2019 Every state in 2019 This day in weather history Warnings in Indiana, December 2019

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: 860768, 860591, 860586, 860584, 860587, 860578, 860585, 860582, 860770, 860583, 860588, 860590.