Winter Weather — Western St. Joseph County, Indiana

2026-01-18 to 2026-01-19 · Western St. Joseph County, Indiana

Event narrative

Light system snow during the late afternoon and evening of January 18th was followed by bands of lake effect snow. The combination of west wind gusts of 30 to 40 mph and the snowfall resulted in significant visibility reductions at times due to snow and blowing snow. Storm total snow accumulations were in the 2 to 4 inch range. Numerous slide-offs and accidents were reported across the region. In addition, wind chills dropped to as cold as 20 below during the early morning hours of January 19th extending into early afternoon.

Wider weather episode

System snow overspread far northern Indiana during the evening hours of January 18th which was followed by periods of lake effect snow on January 19th behind an arctic front. Storm total snowfall accumulations ranged from 2 to 4 inches across portions of far northern Indiana generally along and north of Interstate 80. Strong winds coupled with the snow and blowing snow produced significant visibility reductions at times and hazardous travel conditions.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1305174. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.