Winter Storm — Bartholomew, Indiana

2025-01-05 to 2025-01-06 · Bartholomew, Indiana

Event narrative

Snowfall ranged from 7.0 to 11.5 inches. A Travel Warning was issued for the county due to the impacts of snow on road conditions.

Wider weather episode

A strong winter storm that had started to deepen near the Texas Panhandle on the 4th, was guided slowly eastward amid a split yet confluent upper level pattern, crossing Arkansas through midday hours on the 5th, and continuing along the Kentucky-Tennesse border during the 6th's early morning. Accumulating snow overspread central Indiana on the 5th, from pre-dawn hours southwest of Bloomington to early evening hours in northeastern zones.

Broad and amplified polar surface high pressure, aligned from south-central Canada to the central Appalachians provided ample antecedent cold air, and contributed to a strong 850 mb thermal gradient from south of Interstate Route 70 through the Ohio Valley. Resultant precipitation types ranged from generally all snow over central Indiana's northern two-thirds, to a snow/sleet mix across several of the region's southern zones. While ice accumulation was predominant along the Ohio Valley, reports of freezing rain in central Indiana's southern counties were isolated, with any ice accumulation dwarfed by snow and sleet. Frozen precipitation ended from west to east through the morning and midday of the 6th.

Storm total accumulations reached criteria (5.0 inches) in 32 of central Indiana's 39 zones, across central and southern counties, with widespread 7.0-11.0 inch totals observed along and south of the Interstate 70 corridor. Greatest snowfall was actually observed over far southern and southeastern zones, with 12.0-13.0 inches in portions of Daviess, Jackson, Jennings, and Decatur Counties; following the storm's initial burst that, by late day on the 5th, had already produced 8.6 inches of snowfall in northwestern Daviess County, and 5.7 inches in central Jennings County. Another, narrower band of greater snowfall extended from northeastern Hendricks County and east along Marion County's northern border where 9.0 to 11.0 inches was reported. The snowfall distribution also included a sharp northern gradient, extending from northern Vermillion County, through the Lebanon area and northern Hamilton County, to the Delaware-Henry County line; storm totals in portions of Boone County and Hamilton County ranged from 2.0 to 8.0 inches over a distance of only 12 miles.

Impacts, as reported by Indiana State Police, were led by a total of 234 property damage vehicle crashes and slide offs, 53 personal injury crashes, and 329 motorist assists over the course of the event, along with 21 personal rescues by the National Guard. There were several full closures of interstates during the night of the 5th, yet no fatalities or serious injuries were reported.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1227381. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.