Cold/Wind Chill — La Porte, Indiana

2008-01-19 to 2008-01-20 · La Porte, Indiana

Event narrative

Two deaths related to the cold temperatures were reported by local media outlets. A 61 year old woman was found deceased in her home in Michigan City as a result of hypothermia from exposure to the cold inside her home. Family members said that she had tried to conserve in the past for energy and may not have realized how cold it was. She was heavily dressed and found in her bed. A 84 year old woman was found deceased in LaCrosse outside her residence. It is believed that she was locked out of her house and sucumb to the cold while curled up outside. Temperatures during the period were in the single digits above during the day and below at night with wind chills dropping as low as 25 below zero. Dates of death are estimated based on timing of arctic outbreak.

Wider weather episode

An arctic air mass allowed for high temperatures to struggle into the single digits above zero during the day and below zero at night during the evening hours of January 19th into the morning hours of the 20th. Two deaths were reported with the cold being a contributing factor.

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 73357. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.