During the late afternoon and evening hours of February 8th, a low pressure system brought periods of heavy snow to south central and southern Indiana. Additional light snow fell at times further north, but accumulations were light.
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.
During the late afternoon and evening hours of February 8th, a low pressure system brought periods of heavy snow to south central and southern Indiana. Additional light snow fell at times further north, but accumulations were light. A swath of 4 to 6 inches of snow fell along the East Fork White River valley with some isolated higher amounts. Even with the heavy snow, impacts were very minimal with nothing noted in terms of traffic incidents.
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 Feb 8, 12:48 PM EST, 2 hours 12 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Indianapolis IN 1248 PM EST Mon Feb 8 2021 .UPDATE... The AVIATION Section has been updated below. && .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 335 AM EST Mon Feb 8 2021 The presence of a broad upper level trough across much of the eastern half of the country will maintain a cold and active weather pattern across the Ohio Valley for the next several days. Multiple opportunities for accumulating snow will exist through Thursday night with the potential for some icing as well over far southern portions of central Indiana on Wednesday. Temperatures will turn colder again for late week and into the weekend with highs largely in the teens and lower 20s. && .NEAR TERM (Rest of Today and Tonight)... Issued at 929 AM EST Mon Feb 8 2021 Area of light snow continues across northern portions of central Indiana this morning, but looks to be diminishing. Adjusted PoPs as needed to account for this. Otherwise forecast for today is in good shape, so only tweaked hourly forecasts as needed. For early this evening, slowed onset of higher PoPs in the north based on latest trends in hi-res short term guidance. Previous discussion follows.... Cloudy skies across the region early this morning with light snow impacting the northern half of the forecast area courtesy of a subtle deformation axis over northern parts of Illinois and Indiana. 08Z temperatures varied widely from the single digits north of I-70 to teens further south. An active weather pattern will continue as a broad upper level trough remains the dominant weather feature across much of the eastern half of the country. A stronger wave aloft moving through within the broad trough will track across the region this evening with more widespread snow and the potential for light accumulations...especially across the southern half of the forecast area. Light snow will continue through daybreak and into the morning hours over northern portions of the forecast area with the aforementioned deformation axis. Model soundings show a generally dry airmass with the strong high pressure over the Great Lakes which will keep precip amounts and snowfall lower as a result. Could see a dusting in spots through mid morning but in general the light snow this morning should not cause much in the way of impacts to travel. Light snow will increase by early afternoon from the west as the wave aloft approaches and gradually encompass much of the forecast area by late day. Moisture and isentropic lift will increase as well with the added kicker of a band of frontogenetical forcing and mid level deformation aligning near the Ohio River by this evening. Model soundings near this band will saturate up through the dendritic growth zone and will support a few hours of heavier snowfall as the wave aloft passes through. Further north across the forecast area...the presence of the high pressure centered to the north will maintain a greater amount of drier air through the mid levels and largely cap saturation in the lower levels beneath the dendritic growth zone. While snowfall ratios will be higher further north across central Indiana...precip amounts will be lighter than further south. At this point...expect snow amounts near 2 inches over far southern counties in closest proximity to the frontogenesis with amounts dropping off to 1-1.5 inches closer to the I-70 corridor and generally less than an inch further north. After collaboration with ILN and LMK...will introduce a Winter Weather Advisory basically along and south of a Vincennes-Columbus-Greensburg line where snow amounts will likely be highest. Snow will gradually diminish from the west late tonight as the upper level wave shifts away to the east although enough low level moisture will linger to keep very light snow showers and/or flurries continuing to near daybreak Tuesday. Temps...undercut guidance in general for highs today as the combination of the clouds and snow will hold temps down a bit. In addition...guidance has continuously been too aggressive more often than not of late with warming. The baroclinic zone across the region will once again lead to a wide spread in temps...from near 20 over the northern Wabash Valley to the low to mid 30s over the far south. Temps will drop back into the teens and lower 20s tonight and that is captured well by a model blend. && .SHORT TERM /Tuesday and Tuesday Night/... Issued at 335 AM EST Mon Feb 8 2021 Forecast challenges focus on conditions and any light precipitation between the system that brings the snow tonight and the more expansive midweek system. The upper level flow will relax slightly as the piece of the polar vortex retreats north towards James Bay. This will help transition to a more quasi-zonal flow aloft but the baroclinic zone will remain across the region through Tuesday night between the cold arctic air to the north and the warmer air to our south. The strong high pressure to the northwest of the region will help to dry the airmass out Tuesday but model soundings suggest the subsidence will not fully infiltrate the boundary layer and while there will be some peaks of sun...expect clouds to remain in abundance over much of the region all day Tuesday. Clouds and moisture will increase from the south Tuesday night as an inverted surface trough tracks northeast into the Tennessee Valley. An overrunning setup will develop with the baroclinic zone across the region with isentropic lift increasing as well...setting the stage for pockets of light precipitation to develop late Tuesday night before more substantial wintry precip spreads in by Wednesday. Model soundings show a persistent mid level dry layer that will be slow to saturate Tuesday night even as low level moisture increases from the south. While expect precip to fall primarily in the form of light snow...potential is there for some freezing drizzle as well late Tuesday night...mainly south of I-70. Will hold off on introducing any mention of freezing drizzle at this point but this will be something to monitor over the next day or so. Temps...temperatures will range from the lower 20s north to lower 30s south on Tuesday. General trended towards the warmer MET guidance. Expect lows mainly in the teens to lower 20s Tuesday night. && .LONG TERM /Wednesday through Monday/... Issued at 348 AM EST Mon Feb 8 2021 There is a bit of variance in the long term with multiple upper waves that have enough energy in these cold temperatures to prompt multiple chances for snow. The main systems will come midweek and possibly again at the start of next week. The long term will start out with an upper wave paired with a surface boundary bringing precipitation across the Ohio Valley. A baroclinic zone will be set up just to the south with warm moist air from the south lifting over cold air at the surface. There looks to be a tight thermal gradient aloft and model soundings show a 5 to 10 degree difference between surface temps and warmer temps aloft. Across southern Indiana, temps aloft are expected to be above freezing, thus causing a chance of freezing rain to mix in with snow during the morning to afternoon hours. Still not sure just how far north the freezing rain will reach, but there may be a few hours that it gets as far north as I-70. Elsewhere, all snow is expected. Precipitation should last through at least Wednesday night but have PoPs continuing into Thursday Night as a fairly stationary boundary sticks around until then. Drier and quieter weather is set for the end of the week once the boundary pushes further SE, but enough moisture will stick around aloft to prompt cloud coverage. Some light snow could be possible at some point during this time frame, but confidence is not high enough to include PoPs at this time. Early next week could see a stronger synoptically driven system bringing more snow to the area with a more substantial trough and associated surface low impacting the region. Temperatures for the long term will start out with surface highs in the 20s with lows in the teens. These will then trend colder through the rest of the week see highs in the teens to near 20 while overnight lows should be in the single digits for several nights. && .AVIATION /Discussion for 08/18Z TAF Issuance/... Issued at 1239 PM EST Mon Feb 8 2021 IMPACTS: MVFR to VFR ceilings for the next few hours with MVFR ceilings throughout the rest of the period. IFR visibilities and ceilings are possible within snow bands, with the mostly likely occurrence between 03Z and 06Z. DISCUSSION: A weak shortwave and strong upper level jet will induce surface cyclogenesis just south of Indiana. Cloud decks around 2500 feet are expected as this low arrives with increasing snow bands overnight. Snow could be moderate at times with visibilities below 2mi. Confidence in anything but light snow is low at this time. && .IND WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Winter Weather Advisory from 4 PM this afternoon to 7 AM EST Tuesday for INZ064-065-067>072. && SYNOPSIS...Ryan NEAR TERM...Ryan/50 SHORT TERM...Ryan LONG TERM....KH AVIATION...Updike
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Indianapolis IN 400 AM EST Mon Feb 8 2021 INZ021-028>031-035>049-051>057-060>063-091000- Carroll-Warren-Tippecanoe-Clinton-Howard-Fountain-Montgomery-Boone- Tipton-Hamilton-Madison-Delaware-Randolph-Vermillion-Parke-Putnam- Hendricks-Marion-Hancock-Henry-Vigo-Clay-Owen-Morgan-Johnson-Shelby- Rush-Sullivan-Greene-Monroe-Brown- Including the cities of Delphi, Flora, Williamsport, West Lebanon, Lafayette, West Lafayette, Frankfort, Kokomo, Attica, Covington, Veedersburg, Crawfordsville, Lebanon, Zionsville, Tipton, Fishers, Carmel, Noblesville, Anderson, Muncie, Winchester, Clinton, Newport, Rockville, Greencastle, Plainfield, Brownsburg, Danville, Indianapolis, Greenfield, Cumberland, New Castle, Terre Haute, Brazil, Clay City, Spencer, Martinsville, Mooresville, Greenwood, Franklin, Shelbyville, Rushville, Sullivan, Linton, Bloomfield, Bloomington, and Nashville 400 AM EST Mon Feb 8 2021 This hazardous weather outlook is for central Indiana. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight. Outlook: Light snow is expected this morning mainly north of I-70. More widespread snow will bring light accumulations this evening into the overnight. Hazards: Slick and snow covered roads. Reduced visibilities in snow. Timing: Snow is possible at any time...but steadiest snow with highest impacts are expected this evening into the early overnight. Discussion: Light snow showers are possible this morning in northern portions of central Indiana with a dusting possible in spots. More widespread light snow is expected this evening as an upper level disturbance tracks through the region. Accumulations up to an inch or slightly higher are possible. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday. Outlook: Snow will again impact central Indiana Wednesday and Thursday with the potential for accumulation. Confidence in snowfall amounts during the midweek storm remains low at this point. While temperatures will continue to be below normal through the week...very cold temperatures could return for this weekend. Ice jams may be possible on a few area rivers later this week. Discussion: Low pressure tracking through the Tennessee Valley will spread moisture north into the region Wednesday and Thursday... interacting with disturbances aloft and the cold temperatures to bring chances for accumulating snowfall. In addition...some light icing is possible Wednesday over south central Indiana. Much colder air will return to the region for this weekend into early next week. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotters are encouraged to report snowfall through Thursday. && More information, along with other weather, hydrological and climate information can be found at http://weather.gov/ind INZ064-065-067>072-091000- Bartholomew-Decatur-Knox-Daviess-Martin-Lawrence-Jackson-Jennings- Including the cities of Columbus, Greensburg, Vincennes, Washington, Loogootee, Shoals, Bedford, Mitchell, Seymour, Brownstown, and North Vernon 400 AM EST Mon Feb 8 2021 This hazardous weather outlook is for central Indiana. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight. Outlook: Widespread snow will bring light accumulations this evening into the overnight. Hazards: Slick and snow covered roads. Reduced visibilities in snow. Timing: Snow is possible beginning mid afternoon and continuing through the overnight The heaviest snowfall is expected this evening into the early overnight. Discussion: An upper level disturbance will bring widespread light snow this evening into the early overnight with accumulations around 2 inches possible. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Tuesday through Sunday. Outlook: Snow will again impact central Indiana Wednesday and Thursday with the potential for accumulation. Freezing rain may occasionally mix in on Wednesday as well. Confidence in snowfall amounts during the midweek storm remains low at this point. While temperatures will continue to be below normal through the week...very cold temperatures could return for this weekend. Discussion: Low pressure tracking through the Tennessee Valley will spread moisture north into the region Wednesday and Thursday... interacting with disturbances aloft and the cold temperatures to bring chances for accumulating snowfall. In addition...some light icing is possible Wednesday over south central Indiana. Much colder air will return to the region for this weekend into early next week. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotters are encouraged to report snowfall through Thursday. && 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.
Snowfall ranged from 4.7 to 6.0 inches with the heaviest amounts reported east of Vincennes. 13 accidents occurred during the evening and overnight hours with weather at least partially a factor.
Snowfall reports from COOP and CoCoRaHS observers ranged from 4.1 to 6.8 inches across the county with the heaviest amounts near Bedford. Schools were closed across the county the following morning due to the snow.
A 5.5 inch snowfall measurement was taken in Brownstown. Schools were closed across the county the following morning due to the snow.
Snowfall ranged from 4.0 to 5.7 inches across the county with the heaviest amounts near Columbus. A semi accident caused a brief closure of Interstate 65. Schools were closed across the county for the following morning due to the snow.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Indiana in 2021Every state in 2021This day in weather historyWarnings in Indiana, February 2021
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: 932203, 932200, 932205, 932201.