Areas of low pressure moving along a cold front brought rain to central Indiana then a wintry mix as colder air moved in. The rain along with a soggy ground from snowmelt caused both areal and stream/river flooding across central Indiana.
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.
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.
Areas of low pressure moving along a cold front brought rain to central Indiana then a wintry mix as colder air moved in. The rain along with a soggy ground from snowmelt caused both areal and stream/river flooding across central Indiana. The wintry mix caused slick conditions on area roads. Up to 3 inches of snow fell across the Lafayette area with amounts to the south and east generally less than an inch. Total rain amounts were generally between 1.75 inches and 2.50 inches. Numerous minor accidents occurred across central Indiana due to the slippery conditions along with stalled cars that drove into standing water. No specific locations were noted with many of these minor 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 16, 11:30 PM EST, 1 hour 30 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Indianapolis IN 1130 PM EST Wed Feb 16 2022 ...Updated Aviation Discussion... .Forecast Update... Issued at 959 PM EST Wed Feb 16 2022 Forecast is in decent shape this evening. Moisture continues to flow into the area along a low level jet. Precipitable water on the 00Z sounding at Lincoln, IL is well above normal (2 standard deviations) for this time of year, and values should continue to go up with the strong flow from the Gulf of Mexico. The arrival of forcing with the system has brought showers to the northwest forecast area with isolated showers near Indy. Have upped PoPs where necessary for the remainder of the evening hours. Coverage will continue to go up as forcing ramps up overnight. Previous forecast had this trend covered well so just tweaked as needed. Thanks to clouds and southerly winds, temperatures remain up. Bumped up current readings as needed and slowed the fall until later in the night. Rain will help cool temperatures, but the main push of the colder air will not arrive until late tonight in the northwest. Wind gusts disappeared for a while earlier this evening, but they are coming back. This trend will continue, and when showers become more widespread they could bring down some higher gusts (over 30kt) as well. Flooding is already becoming a concern for parts of the northern forecast area thanks to snow melt and some lingering ice causing issues. Will continue to monitor closely and issue additional products as needed. && .Short Term...(This evening through Thursday night) Issued at 235 PM EST Wed Feb 16 2022 ...STRONG WINDS THROUGH 7 PM WITH HEAVY RAIN AFTERWARDS... ...RAIN TO TRANSITION TO SNOW TOMORROW AFTERNOON... Rest of Today and Tonight. The strongest wind gusts of the afternoon have likely already occurred or will occur within the next 2 hours as the best boundary layer momentum transfer is coming to an end with the loss of the stronger low level lapse rates as diurnal heating winds down. Expect that frequent gusts of 25-35 kts will continue through 6 PM with the occasional wind gusts to 40kts. A few light rain showers are possible through the rest of the afternoon hours associated with an initial push of moisture ahead of the frontal passage tomorrow morning/early afternoon. Thursday and Thursday Night. Synoptically, a broad upper level trough will move through the Midwest over the next 36 hours with strong moisture advection from the Gulf of Mexico saturating the full depth of the lower troposphere. A surface cold front associated with the trough will move into central Indiana tomorrow morning and looks to either exit or nearly exit the far southeastern counties by the early afternoon hours tomorrow. 850mb moisture transfer vectors show an unimpeded stream of strong moisture advection with the moisture then lifting as it passes over the front causing widespread areas of precipitation. The heaviest rain looks to fall across the southern counties associated with convection along the front with a longer duration of moderate rain north of the front. With the surface front currently expected to generally be fully passed through the area by the early afternoon, think that the severe weather threat will be limited to those far southern counties, but with 0-6km shear nearly 100kts and 0-1km helicity values approaching 600m^s/s^s, even with the very marginal instability strong to severe storms will be possible especially if the front takes longer than expected to pass through the area. Strong winds will be another secondary concern tomorrow with model soundings showing efficient boundary layer mixing up to 850mb during the evening hours where a 45kt LLJ will be in place. Precipitation across the area may also help to pull down the stronger winds, but think that the frequency of the stronger winds will be less than expected today which keeps a Wind Advisory from being warranted. Another aspect of hazardous weather will arrive during the early afternoon hours tomorrow as the rain transitions to snow. Current thoughts are that the CAA begins shortly after the frontal passage at LAF tomorrow morning with sub-freezing surface temperatures arriving at Lafayette by the late morning and a gradual transition from rain to freezing rain/sleet and finally snow by the late afternoon. Precip intensity will gradually be winding down towards as the transition occurs with a dry slot moving in, so don't expect significant impacts until later in the evening as temperatures rapidly fall and the liquid on the ground freezes. A second round of light precipitation after 7 PM will likely be all snow across the area and may allow for a brief period of enhanced snow which combined with the earlier snow will lead to isolated amounts of 3-4 inches across the northwest corner of the forecast area. Have elected to go with a Winter Weather Advisory for those locations. Points to the southeast of the Winter Weather Advisory will also see light snow and ice accumulations, but the majority of the impacts will be after the evening rush hour with light snow/ice amounts. Lows will fall to near 10 in the northwestern counties where light snow accumulations are expected with high teens to low 20s further southeast where the accumulations will be little to none. && .Long Term...(Friday through Wednesday) Issued at 235 PM EST Wed Feb 16 2022 Post-frontal cold advection will hold temperatures below normal Friday, followed by a renewed surge of cold advection Saturday that is driven by an amplifying shortwave trough passing along the Canadian border. Forcing and moisture combination will be insufficient for measurable precipitation with the Friday night/Saturday wave. Midlevel heights will rise quickly late Saturday into Sunday resulting in a significant warm-up Sunday and Monday preceding the next wave. Deep troughing will evolve in the west by Monday and a lead shortwave trough will eject northeastward providing a period of forcing/ascent across our area Monday night into Tuesday. The initial warm advection isentropic ascent regime will bring the most widespread rain during that period, followed by what appears to be a prolonged period of strong southwesterly flow and western troughing. Medium range deterministic and ensemble model guidance diverges some on timing and placement of individual shortwave troughs embedded and resultant waves of precipitation. Also, a fairly sharp baroclinic zone may be present across the region with significant temperature variances on either side. For these reasons, the mid-late week time period next week appears to have near to just below average predictability. The most obvious weather impact would be additional rainfall which would exacerbate any ongoing river flooding. Ensemble mean now has QPF maxima south of the Ohio River, and amounts around one to two inches across far southern Indiana tapering to around an inch or less near the I-70 corridor. The GFS/GEFS camp is wetter than the ECMWF/EPS camp at the moment. Forecast refinements can be expected as confidence increases. && .Aviation...(06Z TAF Issuance) Issued at 1129 PM EST Wed Feb 16 2022 IMPACTS: * Low level wind shear tonight. * Wind gusts at times to around 30kt. * Wind shift to north on Thursday. * Deteriorating conditions tonight into MVFR with rain. * IFR and worse conditions on Thursday with rain becoming a wintry mix then snow. DISCUSSION: Potent storm system will bring rain and deteriorating conditions tonight. Isolated thunder is possible, but odds are too low to include in TAFs. As a cold front moves through from northwest to southeast on Thursday, winds will shift to northerly and gusts near 30kt are possible. Precipitation will change first to a wintry mix then to snow, earliest at KLAF and later in the day at KIND/KBMG. Poor flying conditions will continue through Thursday. && .IND WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... Flood Watch through Thursday evening for INZ021-028>031-035>049- 051>057-060>065-067>072. Winter Weather Advisory from noon Thursday to midnight EST Thursday night for INZ021-028>031-035-036-043-044. && Update...50 Short Term...White Long Term...BRB Aviation...50
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Indianapolis IN 653 PM EST Wed Feb 16 2022 INZ037-039>042-045>049-051>057-060>065-067>072-180000- Boone-Hamilton-Madison-Delaware-Randolph-Putnam-Hendricks-Marion- Hancock-Henry-Vigo-Clay-Owen-Morgan-Johnson-Shelby-Rush-Sullivan- Greene-Monroe-Brown-Bartholomew-Decatur-Knox-Daviess-Martin-Lawrence- Jackson-Jennings- Including the cities of Lebanon, Zionsville, Fishers, Carmel, Noblesville, Anderson, Muncie, Winchester, Union City, Farmland, Parker City, Greencastle, Plainfield, Brownsburg, Danville, Indianapolis, Greenfield, New Castle, Terre Haute, Brazil, Spencer, Gosport, Martinsville, Mooresville, Greenwood, Franklin, Shelbyville, Rushville, Sullivan, Carlisle, Shelburn, Farmersburg, Linton, Bloomfield, Jasonville, Worthington, Bloomington, Nashville, Columbus, Greensburg, Vincennes, Washington, Loogootee, Shoals, Bedford, Mitchell, Seymour, and North Vernon 653 PM EST Wed Feb 16 2022 This hazardous weather outlook is for central Indiana. .DAY ONE...Tonight. Periods of heavy rainfall will be possible tonight. Isolated thunderstorms are possible overnight. Lightning along with heavy rain are the main hazards from storms. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday. Periods of heavy rainfall expected Thursday with widespread amounts of two inches or greater, which may produce minor to moderate flooding of low lying areas and area waterways. Isolated thunderstorms expected with a few strong to severe thunderstorms possible. Damaging winds and lightning are the primary hazards. Outside of thunderstorms, winds could gust to 40 mph. A wintry mix of precipitation will be possible late Thursday afternoon into Thursday evening with minor snow and ice accumulations possible. .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 INZ021-028>031-035-036-038-043-044-180000- Carroll-Warren-Tippecanoe-Clinton-Howard-Fountain-Montgomery-Tipton- Vermillion-Parke- Including the cities of Delphi, Flora, Williamsport, West Lebanon, Lafayette, West Lafayette, Frankfort, Kokomo, Attica, Covington, Veedersburg, Crawfordsville, Tipton, Clinton, Fairview Park, Rockville, Montezuma, and Rosedale 653 PM EST Wed Feb 16 2022 This hazardous weather outlook is for central Indiana. .DAY ONE...Tonight. Periods of heavy rainfall will be possible tonight. Isolated thunderstorms are possible overnight. Lightning along with heavy rain are the main hazards from storms. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday. Periods of heavy rainfall expected Thursday with widespread amounts of two inches or greater, which may produce minor to moderate flooding of low lying areas and area waterways. Isolated thunderstorms expected. Outside of thunderstorms, winds could gust to 40 mph. Mixed precipitation is expected Thursday afternoon into Thursday evening with snow accumulations up to 3 inches and ice accumulations up to a tenth of an inch. .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.
1 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.
Snow amounts across the county ranged from 1.5 inches to near 3 inches. 2 significant car accidents occurred along I-65 due to the slippery condition with 5 cars damaged. Additional slide offs and minor accidents occurred across the county.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Indiana in 2022Every state in 2022This day in weather historyWarnings in Indiana, February 2022
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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 999294.