Northern Indiana

Weather Forecast Office

December 19th Winter Storm

A winter storm blasted the region Thursday night into Friday morning. This event caused widespread power outages and property damage throughout Indiana, Ohio and Southern Michigan. Below are several pictures submitted to our office as well as a sumamry of reports.

- Napoleon, Ohio -
Photos provided by and permission to use granted by Michael Vorwerk.

Crabapple tree covered in ice.

This is a crabapple tree covered in ice in Napoleon, Ohio. Photo provided and permission to use by Michael Vorwerk.

crabapple tree ice closeup
Ice accumuation can be seen clearly on this close-up of the crabapple tree.
Photo provided and permission to use granted by Michael Vorwerk.

Birch tree is droopinig under the weight of ice accumulation in Napoleon, Ohio.
Photo provide and permission granted by Michael Vorwerk.

Clearly ice accumulation on the branches of a shrub, Napoleon, OH
The ice has completely covered the branches of this shrub in Napoleon, OH.
Photo provided and used with permission of Michael Vorwerk

Akron, Indiana - Fulton County
Photos provided and permission to use by Michael Enfield

The ice has covered this shrub and appears to be nearly 1/2" thick.

This provides a close-up of how thick the ice was on the branches of this shrub.

Ice accumulation Akron, IN
Notice the icicles hanging from the branches of this tree in Akron, Indiana.

Syracuse, Indiana - National Weather Service Office

Ice accumulation, Trees, NWS, WFO IWX
Ice accumulation on the berry bush at the National Weather Service Office in Northern Indiana.

Berry bush covered in a thick layer of ice.
This picture clearly shows the thickness of the ice accumulation on the shrubs outside the NWS office in Northern Indiana.

winter blast and the impacts at the local NWS office in Northern Indiana
A thick layer of sleet and ice covers the parking lot and grounds
surrounding the NWS office in Northern Indiana.

vehicles covered in a thick layer of sleet and ice.
Ice and sleet cover the goverment vehicles.

Berne, Indiana
Photos provided by and permission to use granted by Jon Rosswurm

	Cleaning up after branches fell from ice covered trees in Berne, Indiana.
Tree suffered under the increasing weight of the ice. Here branches have toppled from the trees in Berne, Inidana.
	This shows the thickness of the ice and the icicles that formed on many of the exposed surfaces throughout the region. These are the trees in Berne, Indiana.

La Porte County, Indiana
Photos provided by and permission to use granted by Ashley Lukasik

These 2 photos show the thickness of the ice near Wanatah, IN. They also show how the ice coated every exposed surface, including trees, fences, and blades of grass.

Plymouth, Indiana
Photos provided by and permission to use granted by Amy and Nate Mahan. Thanks also to Cindi Clawson at WNDU.

Nate wrote, "A couple of minutes after a pine tree branch hits powerline, the branch catches on fire. Moments later, there were three booms. Then the fire went out directly after."

Local Storm Summary as of 7 PM Friday, December 19, 2008

Click for Storm Reports

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
712 PM EST FRI DEC 19 2008

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

1147 PM     SLEET            PERU                    40.75N  86.07W
12/18/2008  E0.00 INCH       MIAMI              IN   COUNTY OFFICIAL

            PERU POST DISPATCHER REPORTS SLEET IN PERU

0136 AM     FREEZING RAIN    WARSAW                  41.24N  85.85W
12/19/2008  E0.00 INCH       KOSCIUSKO          IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET REPORTED IN WARSAW.

0143 AM     FREEZING RAIN    MONTICELLO              40.75N  86.76W
12/19/2008  E0.00 INCH       WHITE              IN   COUNTY OFFICIAL

            NUMEROUS REPORTS OF ACCIDENTS AND SLIDE OFFS ACROSS THE
            COUNTY. UNABLE TO ESTIMATE AMOUNT OF ICE SO FAR.

0144 AM     FREEZING RAIN    OTTAWA                  41.02N  84.04W
12/19/2008  E0.00 INCH       PUTNAM             OH   TRAINED SPOTTER

            FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET OVER THE PAST HOUR. TRACE
            AMOUNTS.

0147 AM     FREEZING RAIN    WINAMAC                 41.05N  86.60W
12/19/2008  E0.10 INCH       PULASKI            IN   COUNTY OFFICIAL

            FREEZING RAIN AND SLEET PAST COUPLE OF HOURS. ICE
            ACCUMULATIONS ON VEHICLES SO FAR WITH SLIPPERY ROADS.

0202 AM     FREEZING RAIN    LOGANSPORT              40.75N  86.36W
12/19/2008  E0.05 INCH       CASS               IN   COUNTY OFFICIAL

            FREEZING RAIN HAS BEEN OCCURRING PAST COUPLE OF HOURS.
            LIGHT ICING BUT NO SPECIFIC AMOUNT. AIR TEMPERATURE 30
            DEGREES.

0221 AM     SLEET            1 N NORTH WEBSTER       41.34N  85.70W
12/19/2008  E0.05 INCH       KOSCIUSKO          IN   NWS OFFICE

            PERIODS OF MODERATE SNOW THEN MODERATE SLEET OVER PAST
            20 MINUTES.

0227 AM     SNOW             SOUTH BEND              41.68N  86.27W
12/19/2008  M1.0 INCH        ST. JOSEPH         IN   NWS EMPLOYEE

            INCH OF SNOW SO FAR ALONG WITH SLEET CURRENTLY FALLING

0320 AM     FREEZING RAIN    WHITE PIGEON            41.80N  85.64W
12/19/2008  E0.01 INCH       ST. JOSEPH         MI   TRAINED SPOTTER

            LIGHT FREEZINFG RAIN AND SLEET

0320 AM     FREEZING RAIN    1 WSW BERNE             40.65N  84.97W
12/19/2008  M0.10 INCH       ADAMS              IN   COCORAHS

            TENTH OF AN INCH OF ICE SO FAR.

0323 AM     ICE STORM        ROCHESTER               41.06N  86.20W
12/19/2008                   FULTON             IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            0.25 INCHES OF ICE SO FAR AND STILL ACCUMULATING.

0330 AM     ICE STORM        5 SW FORT WAYNE         41.02N  85.21W
12/19/2008                   ALLEN              IN   ASOS

            OBSERVER REPORTS ONE QUARTER INCH OF ICE ON TREES.
            FREEZING RAIN STILL OCCURRING

0338 AM     ICE STORM        LOGANSPORT              40.75N  86.36W
12/19/2008                   CASS               IN   EMERGENCY MNGR

            THREE SUBSTATIONS DOWN IN AND AROUND LOGANSPORT. EOC
            WITHOUT POWER. TEMPERATURE AROUND 31 DEGREES.

0425 AM     SLEET            LAGRANGE                41.64N  85.42W
12/19/2008  E0.10 INCH       LAGRANGE           IN   EMERGENCY MNGR

            SLEET AND SNOW SO FAR

0504 AM     ICE STORM        ROCHESTER               41.06N  86.20W
12/19/2008                   FULTON             IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            NOW UP TO THREE EIGHTHS TO ONE HALF INCH OF ICE. NO
            POWER OUTAGES SO FAR.

0531 AM     ICE STORM        5 SW FORT WAYNE         41.02N  85.21W
12/19/2008                   ALLEN              IN   ASOS

            AROUND ONE HALF INCH OF ICE ON TREES FROM CONTRACT
            OBSERVER

0536 AM     ICE STORM        AKRON                   41.04N  86.02W
12/19/2008                   FULTON             IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            THREE EIGHTHS OF AN INCH OF ICE. POWER OUT IN TOWN.

0600 AM     ICE STORM        MONTPELIER              40.55N  85.28W
12/19/2008                   BLACKFORD          IN   UTILITY COMPANY

            OVER 2000 CUSTOMERS WITHOUT POWER ACROSS BLACKFORD
            COUNTY DUE TO FREEZING RAIN

0605 AM     ICE STORM        5 W CHALMERS            40.66N  86.96W
12/19/2008                   WHITE              IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            0.25" OF ICE ACCRETION...FREEZING RAIN STILL FALLING

0628 AM     ICE STORM        3 SE WARSAW             41.21N  85.81W
12/19/2008                   KOSCIUSKO          IN   NWS EMPLOYEE

            QUARTER INCH OF ICE ACCRETION...FREEZING RAIN STILL
            FALLING

0630 AM     SNOW             4 N ANGOLA              41.70N  85.00W
12/19/2008  M2.0 INCH        STEUBEN            IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            2 INCHES OF SNOW AND SLEET ACCUMULATION OVERNIGHT...NOW
            REPORTING FREEZING RAIN

0630 AM     ICE STORM        DEFIANCE                41.28N  84.36W
12/19/2008                   DEFIANCE           OH   EMERGENCY MNGR

            0.50" OF ICE ACCUMULATION

0635 AM     FREEZING RAIN    COLUMBUS GROVE          40.92N  84.06W
12/19/2008  M0.20 INCH       PUTNAM             OH   TRAINED SPOTTER

            TOTAL ICE ACCUMULATION SO FAR...MODERATE FREEZING RAIN
            STILL FALLING

0637 AM     ICE STORM        4 E LEESBURG            41.33N  85.77W
12/19/2008                   KOSCIUSKO          IN   NWS EMPLOYEE

            ICE ACCRETION OF 0.25" SO FAR...ALSO 1 TO 1.5 INCHES OF
            SNOW AND SLEET ACCUMULATION OVERNIGHT

0640 AM     ICE STORM        MARION                  40.55N  85.67W
12/19/2008                   GRANT              IN   UTILITY COMPANY

            AEP REPORTS NEARLY 2000 CUSTOMERS WITHOUT POWER ACROSS
            GRANT COUNTY DUE TO FREEZING RAIN

0647 AM     ICE STORM        MICHIGAN CITY           41.71N  86.88W
12/19/2008                   LA PORTE           IN   AMATEUR RADIO

            A LITTLE OVER A QUARTER OF AN INCH OF ICE
            ACCRETION...ALSO NEARLY AN INCH OF SLEET AND SNOW
            ACCUMULATION

0650 AM     ICE STORM        FORT WAYNE              41.07N  85.14W
12/19/2008                   ALLEN              IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            ICE ACCUMULATION OF 0.50 INCHES REPORTED BY ASOS
            OBSERVER. REPORTED TREES AND POWER LINES WITH HALF INCH
            OF ICE ACCUMULATION.

0700 AM     ICE STORM        MIDDLEBURY              41.67N  85.71W
12/19/2008                   ELKHART            IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            ICE ACCUMULATION OF 0.12 INCHES ON TREES AND POWER
            LINES. ALSO WORKS FOR UTILITY COMPANY AND REPORTED 27000
            WITHOUT POWER ACROSS NORTHERN INDIANA.

0702 AM     ICE STORM        BLUFFTON                40.74N  85.17W
12/19/2008                   WELLS              IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            0.30" OF ICE ACCRETION SINCE MIDNIGHT

0713 AM     ICE STORM        COLUMBUS GROVE          40.92N  84.06W
12/19/2008                   PUTNAM             OH   TRAINED SPOTTER

            0.25" OF ICE ACCRETION SINCE MIDNIGHT.

0717 AM     ICE STORM        BERNE                   40.66N  84.95W
12/19/2008                   ADAMS              IN   COCORAHS

            AT LEAST A QUARTER INCH OF ICE ACCUMULATION ON TREES
            AND POWER LINES. SPORADIC POWER OUTAGES IN BERNE AREA.

0734 AM     ICE STORM        GRANGER                 41.74N  86.14W
12/19/2008                   ST. JOSEPH         IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            ICE ACCRETIONS OF 0.25" ON TREES AND POWER LINES...ALSO
            1.2" OF SNOW AND SLEET ACCUMULATION OVERNIGHT

0736 AM     ICE STORM        VAN WERT                40.86N  84.58W
12/19/2008                   VAN WERT           OH   EMERGENCY MNGR

            QUARTER INCH OF ICE ACCRETION WITH NUMEROUS POWER
            OUTAGES REPORTED

0749 AM     ICE STORM        COLUMBIA CITY           41.16N  85.48W
12/19/2008                   WHITLEY            IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            BETWEEN A QUARTER AND HALF INCH OF ICE ACCRETION

0751 AM     ICE STORM        HUNTINGTON              40.88N  85.51W
12/19/2008                   HUNTINGTON         IN   UTILITY COMPANY

            AEP REPORTS NUMEROUS POWER OUTAGES ACROSS HUNTINGTON
            COUNTY

0753 AM     ICE STORM        4 NNW HUDSON            41.59N  85.11W
12/19/2008                   STEUBEN            IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            REPORTED NEARLY A QUARTER OF AN INCH OF ICE
            ACCUMULATION ON TREES AND POWER LINES...ALSO 1.4" OF
            SNOW AND SLEET ACCUMULATION OVERNIGHT

0757 AM     ICE STORM        PORTLAND                40.43N  84.98W
12/19/2008                   JAY                IN   UTILITY COMPANY

            AEP REPORTS NEARLY 1000 PEOPLE WITHOUT POWER ACROSS JAY
            COUNTY DUE TO SIGNIFICANT ICE ACCUMULATIONS

0800 AM     ICE STORM        VAN WERT                40.86N  84.58W
12/19/2008                   VAN WERT           OH   EMERGENCY MNGR

            0.50" OF ICE ACCUMULATION

0813 AM     ICE STORM        COLUMBIA CITY           41.16N  85.48W
12/19/2008                   WHITLEY            IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            0.50" OF ICE ACCUMULATION. NUMEROUS TREES LIMBS DOWN

0829 AM     ICE STORM        3 WNW BUFFALO           40.90N  86.80W
12/19/2008                   WHITE              IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

0830 AM     SNOW             LITCHFIELD              42.04N  84.76W
12/19/2008  M3.9 INCH        HILLSDALE          MI   TRAINED SPOTTER

            3.9" OF SNOW ACCUMULATION SINCE MIDNIGHT

0833 AM     ICE STORM        FORT WAYNE              41.07N  85.14W
12/19/2008                   ALLEN              IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            0.50 INCH ICE ACCUMULATION. REPORTED THUNDER AND
            LIGHTNING AT 830 WITH SMALL HAIL ABOUT ONE QUARTER INCH
            IN DIAMETER. ALSO NOTED WINDS PICKED UP WITH THUNDER AND
            NUMEROUS TREE LIMBS BEGAN FALLING. LOCATED NEAR I69 I469
            ON NORTH SIDE OF FORT WAYNE.

0839 AM     FLOOD            FORT WAYNE              41.07N  85.14W
12/19/2008                   ALLEN              IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            STANDING WATER WITH STALLED CARS DUE TO CLOGGED DRAINS

0854 AM     SNOW             WHITE PIGEON            41.80N  85.64W
12/19/2008  M2.0 INCH        ST. JOSEPH         MI   TRAINED SPOTTER

            TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATION

0857 AM     ICE STORM        DESHLER                 41.21N  83.91W
12/19/2008                   HENRY              OH   EMERGENCY MNGR

            0.50 INCH OF ICE ACCUMULATION. NUMEROUS POWER OUTAGES
            REPORTED.

0917 AM     ICE STORM        KNOX                    41.29N  86.62W
12/19/2008                   STARKE             IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            QUARTER TO A HALF AN INCH OF ICE ACCUMULATION. LARGE
            BRANCHES DOWNED.

0927 AM     ICE STORM        ROCHESTER               41.06N  86.20W
12/19/2008                   FULTON             IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            TOTAL ICE ACCUMULATION...0.40". NUMEROUS UTILITY LINES
            DOWN.

1121 AM     ICE STORM        MARION                  40.55N  85.67W
12/19/2008                   GRANT              IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            TOTAL ICE ACCUMULATION...0.25 INCH

1227 PM     SNOW             LITCHFIELD              42.04N  84.76W
12/19/2008  M4.8 INCH        HILLSDALE          MI   TRAINED SPOTTER

            STORM TOTAL SNOW ACCUMULATION

1231 PM     FREEZING RAIN    ROLLING PRARIE          41.67N  86.62W
12/19/2008  E0.20 INCH       LA PORTE           IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            TOTAL SNOW AND SLEET ACCUMULATION...1.6". TOTAL ICE
            ACCUMULATION...0.20"

0100 PM     HEAVY SNOW       9 E JONESVILLE          41.98N  84.49W
12/19/2008  M6.0 INCH        HILLSDALE          MI   TRAINED SPOTTER

            EVENT TOTAL SNOWFALL. DID HAVE A BRIEF PERIOD OF
            FREEZING RAIN WITH A SMALL AMOUNT OF ICE ACCUMULATION.

0347 PM     ICE STORM        AKRON                   41.04N  86.02W
12/19/2008                   FULTON             IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            0.6 INCHES OF ICE ACCUMULATION OVER THE PAST 24 HOURS.
            ICING ON TREES AND POWER LINES. TREES AND TREE LIMBS
            DOWN AROUND TOWN.

0635 PM     ICE STORM        NILES                   41.83N  86.25W
12/19/2008                   BERRIEN            MI   TRAINED SPOTTER

            2.80 INCHES OF NEW SNOWFALL OVER THE PAST 24 HOURS. 0.1
            INCHES OF NEW ICE OVER THE PAST 24 HOURS. ICING ON TREES
            AND POWER LINES.