Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Indiana, January 24 to 25, 2026

Name: Winter Storm and Winter Weather in Indiana, January 24 to 25, 2026
Start: 2026-01-24T16:00
End: 2026-01-25T22:00
Location: Indiana

January 24 to 25, 2026 · NWS LOT · 5 events in 5 counties and zones

Snow spread across northwest Indiana during the afternoon of January 24th and continued through the evening of January 25th as it transitioned to lake effect snow. 1 inches in Hobart.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 5 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: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

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 LOT wrote it up.

Snow spread across northwest Indiana during the afternoon of January 24th and continued through the evening of January 25th as it transitioned to lake effect snow. Snowfall amounts were generally in the 4 to 6 inch range with higher amounts near Lake Michigan, which included 9.0 inches in Valparaiso and 8.1 inches in Hobart.

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 Chicago, IL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Jan 24, 3:41 PM EST, 19 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jan 24, 3:41 PM EST, 19 minutes before

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Hazardous weather outlook, Jan 24, 3:54 PM EST, 6 minutes before

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In the hours before

Local storm report, Jan 24, 10:25 AM EST, 5 hours 35 minutes before

Preliminary Local Storm Report
National Weather Service Chicago IL
925 AM CST Sat Jan 24 2026

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0800 AM     Snow             Portage                 41.58N 87.18W
01/24/2026  E2.0 Inch        Porter             IN   Public

0900 AM     Snow             Chesterton              41.61N 87.06W
01/24/2026  E6.0 Inch        Porter             IN   Public

&&

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Winter Weather, Benton

When: January 24, 4:00 PM EST to January 25, 4:00 PM EST
Where: Benton forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 40.606, -87.311 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Porter

When: January 24, 4:00 PM CST to January 25, 10:00 PM CST
Where: Porter forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 41.509, -87.073 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Newton

When: January 24, 4:00 PM CST to January 25, 6:00 PM CST
Where: Newton forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 40.956, -87.397 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Weather, Jasper

When: January 24, 4:00 PM CST to January 25, 7:00 PM CST
Where: Jasper forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 41.023, -87.116 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Winter Storm, Lake

When: January 24, 4:00 PM CST to January 25, 8:00 PM CST
Where: Lake forecast zone
Reported by: Trained Spotter
Coordinates: 41.472, -87.376 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

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

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Indiana in 2026 Every state in 2026 This day in weather history Warnings in Indiana, January 2026

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: 1308988, 1308984, 1308986, 1308987, 1308989.