Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Indiana, January 30 to 31, 2023

Name: Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Indiana, January 30 to 31, 2023
Start: 2023-01-30T18:00
End: 2023-01-31T05:00
Location: Indiana

January 30 to 31, 2023 · NWS PAH · 6 events in 6 counties and zones

A winter storm consisting primarily of sleet impacted southwest Indiana during the night of January 30th. The precipitation moved out shortly before sunrise on the 31st.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 6 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: 4
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 6

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 PAH wrote it up.

A winter storm consisting primarily of sleet impacted southwest Indiana during the night of January 30th. The precipitation moved out shortly before sunrise on the 31st. The precipitation fell quite heavily as soon as it started, and temperatures were well below freezing, so roads quickly became covered with sleet. The sleet compacted down to an icy coating, making for dangerous travel conditions. For the next few days that followed the storm, many secondary roads were ice-covered as temperatures remained well below freezing through the morning of February 2nd. There were numerous vehicle slide-offs and some accidents. Schools were cancelled in most counties from January 30th through February 2nd. The heaviest sleet accumulations occurred along and south of Interstate 64, including Evansville and Boonville, where there was about one-half inch of sleet. A light glaze of icing also accompanied the sleet in many areas. The wintry precipitation was much lighter to the north. There was less than one-quarter inch of sleet north of Interstate 64 from Princeton to Petersburg. The Gibson County Sheriff Department reported four accidents with injuries, ten non-injury accidents, and 25 vehicles that slid off the road. Interstate 69 was blocked by a jackknifed semi at the Gibson and Pike County border. Arctic high pressure over the central Plains pumped low-level cold air into the region on brisk northeast winds. At the same time, a southwest wind flow at 500 mb brought a moist air mass emanating from the sub-tropical Pacific.

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 Paducah, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 30, 5:52 PM CST, 8 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 30, 5:52 PM CST, 8 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 30, 5:17 PM CST, 43 minutes before

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In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 30, 5:40 PM CST, 20 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

4 winter storm, 2 winter weather. Local standard time, as filed.

Winter Storm, Posey

When: January 30, 6:00 PM CST to January 31, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Posey forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 38.022, -87.868 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Vanderburgh

When: January 30, 6:00 PM CST to January 31, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Vanderburgh forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 38.025, -87.586 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Warrick

When: January 30, 6:00 PM CST to January 31, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Warrick forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 38.092, -87.272 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Spencer

When: January 30, 6:00 PM CST to January 31, 5:00 AM CST
Where: Spencer forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 38.014, -87.008 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Gibson

When: January 30, 6:00 PM CST to January 31, 3:00 AM CST
Where: Gibson forecast zone
Injuries: 0 direct, 4 indirect
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 38.312, -87.585 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Pike

When: January 30, 6:00 PM CST to January 31, 4:00 AM CST
Where: Pike forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 38.399, -87.232 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Winter Storm: A storm that brought snow, sleet or freezing rain at warning levels, usually over several hours or days.
Winter Weather: Snow, sleet or freezing rain below warning levels that still caused disruption, damage or casualties.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Indiana in 2023 Every state in 2023 This day in weather history Warnings in Indiana, January 2023

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 2026-10-01. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 1070495, 1070496, 1070497, 1070498, 1070499, 1070500.