The Great Blizzard of ’78 brings up many memories for Hoosiers. It conjures up the blinding snow, bone chilling conditions, and snow drifts to the roof tops. It brought transportation to a halt and caused schools to close for two weeks.

Bands of heavy snow began to arrive on the night of January 25th, 1978. The snow fell at a rate of 1 to 2 inches per hour with sustained winds of 35 to 45 mph. Visibilities were brought down to one sixteenth of a mile. Blizzard Warnings were issued across the state of Indiana.

The National Weather Service considers a winter storm to be a blizzard when the storm produces sustained or frequent winds of 35 mph or higher, with considerable falling and / or blowing snow that frequently reduces visibility to a quarter of a mile or less. These conditions are expected to prevail for a minimum of 3 hours.

More than ten inches of snow fell the first day and seven more followed over the next two days. People were barricaded in their homes. Ambulances were unable to make emergency runs. Crews had to respond to calls on snowmobiles and in four wheel drive vehicles.
Seventy people perished during the storm.

Fort Wayne Totals:

Snowfall Total: 10”

Maximum Snow Depth: 20"

Peak Wind Gust: 55 mph

Low Temperature: 4F Low

Wind Chill (old formula):

Approx. -60oF

Duration of Significant Snowfall: 31 hours

Maximum drifts: Up to 20 feet

Lowest Observed Pressure: 29.04"

Seventy people perished during the storm.

The National Weather Service reminds you to be prepared before winter storms strike. Have a preparedness kit in your home, and a survival kit in your vehicle. Do not venture out when conditions are hazardous. Pay attention to forecasts and warnings from the National Weather Service, and information from the local media. Winter storms are deceptive killers. Treat them with the respect due the situation. Respecting their power may just save your life.

First Winter Storm of 2010

Some snow totals in Indiana, so far:

Indianapolis- 5.0"

Fort Wayne - 3.5", Peru-5.0"

North Webster- 3.4"

Van Wert-3.5"

Columbia City-4.0"

Anderson-3.7"

Lafayette- 4.0"

Watching for a Winter Storm

Accumulating snow will be likely Thursday, as a clipper system moves across central Indiana. Most of the precipitation should start to move in my Thursday morning. Below is the GFS model at 1pm on Thursday. A burst of heavier snow will be likely through the afternoon.

MOdels are ranging from 2 to 6 inches. The NAM by Friday early morning only has around 2 inches of new snow.
The GFS has northern Indiana receiving around 4 inches of snow by early Friday morning.But the snow depth is more impressive, with most of northern Indiana under a 7 inch depth of snow.

It will also be very cold this coming weekend!

A strong winter storm system will move across the Midwest from Wednesday on into Christmas Day. This system will tap into a lot of moisture from the Gulf of Mexico. By 7pm Wednesday night, precipitation will be over Illinois and Iowa. The bulk of this system will be to the west of Indiana. When the precipitation arrives, the critical freezing level will be well north. This means that the precipitation will start off as liquid. As it fall through the colder air mass at the surface, it will refreeze. It could be in the form of sleet or freezing rain. As the surface temperature climbs above the freezing mark, the precipitation will change over to just rain. But before that happens, some ice accumulations will be possible.

The WRF model is very similar to the GFS. Northeast Indiana will see mainly snow showers on Wednesday night while Northwest Indiana will experience freezing rain and sleet.

The map below shows the areas of snow in magenta, freezing rain in the blue and rain in green. At 1pm Wednesday, the system should be bringing just snow into northern Indiana, southern Wisconsin and northern Illinois.

By Wednesday at 5pm, freezing rain and ice (in the red) along with snow, will be possible in northern Indiana.

By Wednesday at 7pm, better chances of freezing rain move into northern Indiana.

Alberta Clipper Arrives Tonight

More snow showers will be likely tonight, mainly during the overnight. An Alberta Clipper system will slide down into central Indiana tonight, bringing northern Indiana another inch or two of snow into Monday morning.

After this system moves through, a few flurries will be possible on Monday. Otherwise, there will be a couple of days with dry and sunny conditions. By Thursday though, some changes arrive. Of course it is Christmas Eve so holiday travels may be difficult. The GFS has it tracking mainly north of our area, which means will be be on the south side of this system. As it pushes in, the upper levels will be above freezing. As the precipitation arrives, it will be liquid. The air temperature at the surface will be near or slightly above freezing by Thursday afternoon. So, the question will be what kind of precipitation will we see out of this storm?

The Canadian model also has a similar track.

The critical thickness line will be north of the area by Christmas Eve night. Freezing rain changing over to just rain will be a possibility.

Then it will change over to some snow showers by Christmas Day. With around 4 inches of snow in Northeastern Indiana, some snow will remain in place by Christmas with more to come on Christmas day.

A White Christmas?

Chances of snow move back in to the forecast by Friday. A clipper system will arrive by Friday night, bringing a burst of snow during the overnight Friday into Saturday morning. Only minor accumulations are possible.

Saturday will be mainly quiet with a few snow showers moving back in by Saturday night.

With cold temperatures into next week, any snow this weekend will likely remain in place for Christmas. But check it out- another systems looks to move in by Christmas Eve morning. This is still very early right now, but right now, it looks like accumulating snowfall will be possible.

I'll continue to monitor this system to see if we will indeed, have a white Christmas!

Mild for another day before cold air returns

Another mild day today with highs in the low 40's. The wind will be out of the south from 10 to 15 mph. Light drizzle will be possible into this evening

Any left over precipitation by Tuesday morning will be in the form of snow. The 540 line will be well south of the area by morning with the surface temperature falling into the upper 20's.

Much colder air moves in by Wednesday morning, as temperatures fall into the low to mid teens!
The cold snap will be short lived as more seasonal temperatures return by the end of the week. Looking out to Christmas- looks like it could be a white one! Below is Wednesday night, the day before Christmas Eve. An area of low pressure will bring snow into the area!