Overview
During the evening February 8th and during the daytime on February 9th, a winter storm brought moderate to heavy snow to portions of the NWS Northern Indiana forecast area.
Snow & NWS Headlines
Here is a map of the storm total snowfall from the event (February 8th-February 10th, 2018). A list of official snow totals for specific locations can be found under the "Storm Reports" tab.
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| Figure 1. Storm Total Snow Map February 8th-10th, 2018 |
For this event, the NWS Northern Indiana had winter storm warnings for the counties shown in pink, and winter weather advisories for the counties shown in purple (Fig. 2). For current headlines, please visit our webpage.
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| Figure 2. NWS Headlines for the February 8th-9th, 2018 Winter Storm. |
Photos:
Here are some of the photos sent to NWS Northern Indiana throughout the event. Thank you to those who submitted them! If you want to send us a unique or scenic photo from this event, you can send it via Twitter (@NWSIWX), Facebook (US National Weather Service Northern Indiana), or email (w-iwx.webmaster@noaa.gov).
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| Figure 1. I 94 near Chesterton, IN around 10 am EST February 9th, 2018 (INDOT). | Figure 2. US 33 near Benton, IN. Photo by: Tim Yoder | Figure 3. Enjoying the snow with the llamas at a farm in LaPorte, IN. Addie Acres | Figure 4. Image from US 30 & US 31 area around 11:15 am on February 9th, 2018 (INDOT). |
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| Figure 5. Snow at IWX on February 9th at 11 am ET. Megan Dodson | Figure 6. Snow at IWX on February 9th at 11 am ET. Megan Dodson | Figure 7. Snow at IWX on February 9th at 11 am ET. Megan Dodson | Figure 8. Snow at IWX on February 9th at 11 am ET. Megan Dodson |
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| Figure 9. New Carlisle, IN. Clinton Griffiths | Figure 10. New Carlisle, IN. Clinton Griffiths | Figure 11. Steve Kinnett. | Figure 12. Michigan City, IN. Judy Sekerka Small. |
Radar:
A radar loop of the event, which started Thursday Evening (2/8), and continued through Friday (2/9).
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| Fig. 1. Radar loop of the event from Thursday Evening (2/8), and continued through Friday (2/9). |
Storm Reports
Here are the final storm total reports we received as of February 10th at 12:15 PM EST.
Public Information Statement
National Weather Service Northern Indiana
1215 PM EST Sat Feb 10 2018
...February 8th and 9th Storm Total Snowfall...
Location Amount Time/Date Lat/Lon
...Indiana...
...Allen County...
2 NW Leo Cedarville 3.5 in 0800 AM 02/10 41.24N/86.05W
4 SE Huntertown 3.0 in 1021 AM 02/10 41.20N/85.12W
Fort Wayne 4.1 NE 2.3 in 0700 AM 02/10 41.12N/85.09W
2 W Woodburn 2.2 in 0700 AM 02/10 41.12N/84.91W
2 ESE Huntertown 2.0 in 0800 AM 02/10 41.21N/85.12W
1 WSW Maples 1.2 in 0700 AM 02/10 40.99N/85.00W
...De Kalb County...
Auburn 4.0 in 0700 AM 02/10 41.36N/85.06W
Garrett 2.5 in 0750 AM 02/10 41.34N/85.13W
...Elkhart County...
1 NE Osceola 14.0 in 0632 PM 02/09 41.68N/86.06W
4 SSW Bristol 12.5 in 1133 AM 02/10 41.67N/85.85W
Dunlap 11.0 in 0358 PM 02/09 41.64N/85.92W
4 NNW Millersburg 10.5 in 0441 PM 02/09 41.58N/85.71W
6.5 E Goshen 10.5 in 1100 PM 02/09 41.50N/85.71W
3 W Middlebury 10.0 in 0700 AM 02/10 41.67N/85.77W
3 NNE Wakarusa 8.7 in 1034 AM 02/10 41.57N/85.99W
5 SW Elkhart 8.5 in 0700 AM 02/10 41.64N/86.04W
Nappanee 9.0 in 0735 AM 02/10 41.45N/85.98W
2 WSW Goshen 9.1 in 0700 AM 02/10 41.56N/85.88W
Millersburg 6.9 in 0835 PM 02/09 41.52N/85.70W
...Fulton County...
Akron 4.0 in 1215 PM 02/10 41.04N/86.03W
...Kosciusko County...
Dewart Lake 6.8 in 0700 AM 02/10 41.38N/85.78W
2 WSW Syracuse 6.5 in 0130 PM 02/09 41.41N/85.79W
1N Milford 6.1 in 0700 AM 02/10 41.42N/85.85W
James Lake 4.4 in 0700 AM 02/10 41.31N/85.72W
Northern Indiana WFO 3.9 in 0700 AM 02/10 41.36N/85.70W
1 N Warsaw 2.8 in 0700 AM 02/10 41.26N/85.85W
1 NNW Warsaw 2.3 in 0700 AM 02/10 41.25N/85.86W
...La Porte County...
Westville 16.0 in 0700 PM 02/09 41.54N/86.91W
2 NNW Hudson Lake 11.0 in 0815 PM 02/09 41.74N/86.55W
2 WSW Springville 10.0 in 0735 AM 02/10 41.67N/86.78W
2 SW LaPorte 8.5 in 0700 AM 02/10 41.59N/86.74W
1 SW La Porte 7.1 in 0800 AM 02/10 41.59N/86.73W
Wanatah 5.0 in 0800 AM 02/10 41.43N/86.93W
1 W Hanna 4.0 in 0900 AM 02/09 41.41N/86.81W
...Lagrange County...
1 ENE Lagrange 3.5 in 1035 AM 02/09 41.65N/85.39W
...Marshall County...
Plymouth 8.0 in 0800 AM 02/10 41.34/86.30W
...Noble County...
2 E Rome City 4.9 in 0700 AM 02/10 41.50N/85.31W
1 S Ligonier 3.0 in 0725 AM 02/09 41.45N/85.59W
...St. Joseph County...
1 SW Granger 15.0 in 0801 PM 02/09 41.72N/86.15W
Granger 14.5 in 0851 PM 02/09 41.74N/86.14W
4 ENE Chain-O-Lakes 11.0 in 0510 PM 02/09 41.73N/86.32W
1 ENE Gulivoire Park 11.0 in 0800 AM 02/10 41.62N/86.22W
South Bend International Ap 10.9 in 0700 AM 02/10 41.71N/86.32W
1 N Osceola 10.0 in 0358 PM 02/09 41.68N/86.08W
1 E Indian Village 9.0 in 0350 PM 02/09 41.71N/86.21W
Roseland 9.0 in 0358 PM 02/09 41.72N/86.25W
1 N South Bend 9.0 in 0524 PM 02/09 41.69N/86.27W
Walkerton 6ENE 8.3 in 0700 AM 02/10 41.50N/86.34W
New Carlisle 8.0 in 0856 AM 02/10 41.70N/86.51W
1 NE Osceola 7.0 in 0405 PM 02/09 41.68N/86.07W
...Starke County...
Knox WWTP 6.0 in 0800 AM 02/10 41.31N/86.63W
3 ESE San Pierre 5.0 in 0715 AM 02/10 41.18N/86.83W
North Judson 4.0 in 0750 AM 02/10 41.21N/86.78W
...Steuben County...
Long Lake 12.0 in 0630 PM 02/09 41.58N/85.03W
Angola 7.0 in 1107 AM 02/09 41.64N/85.00W
4 NNW Hudson 5.9 in 0800 AM 02/10 41.59N/85.11W
2 WSW Golden Lake 5.9 in 0700 AM 02/10 41.59N/85.10W
Pleasant Lake 5.0 in 1124 AM 02/09 41.58N/85.02W
1 W Golden Lake 4.5 in 0800 AM 02/10 41.60N/85.09W
2 NE Crooked Lake 4.3 in 0126 PM 02/09 41.70N/85.00W
1 SE Pleasant Lake 4.1 in 0330 PM 02/09 41.56N/85.00W
1 E Hamilton 3.8 in 0700 AM 02/10 41.53N/84.89W
Hudson 3.0 in 1118 AM 02/09 41.53N/85.08W
1 E Salem Center 2.4 in 0709 AM 02/09 41.59N/85.11W
...Whitley County...
Columbia City 2.0 in 0700 AM 02/09 41.15N/85.49W
...Michigan...
...Berrien County...
Buchanan 12.5 in 0358 PM 02/09 41.83N/86.37W
2 ESE Buchanan 12.4 in 0900 AM 02/10 41.82N/86.34N
3W Niles 11.7 in 1000 AM 02/10 41.84N/86.30N
Niles 11.5 in 0358 PM 02/09 41.83N/86.25W
1 NW Three Oaks 10.8 in 0530 PM 02/09 41.80N/86.62W
Saint Joseph 8.9 in 0700 AM 02/10 42.10N/86.49W
2 SE Stevensville 9.4 in 0730 AM 02/10 41.99N/86.51W
1 W Fair Plain 10.4 in 0700 AM 02/10 42.08N/86.48W
...Branch County...
Coldwater 14.0 in 0800 AM 02/10 41.94N/85.00W
1 WNW Coldwater Lake 11.0 in 0645 PM 02/09 41.83N/84.99W
...Cass County...
Dowagiac 15.0 in 0550 PM 02/09 41.98N/86.11W
2 W Cassopolis 14.0 in 0804 PM 02/09 41.91N/86.05W
...Hillsdale County...
Litchfield 11.5 in 0645 AM 02/10 42.04N/84.76W
2 SSE Montgomery 7.6 in 0800 AM 02/10 41.76N/84.79W
1 NE Moscow 6.0 in 0302 PM 02/09 42.06N/84.50W
...St. Joseph County...
Three Rivers 5.5 in 1048 AM 02/09 41.95N/85.63W
2 E Constantine 3.0 in 0757 AM 02/09 41.84N/85.63W
...Ohio...
...Fulton County...
3 NW Tedrow 4.0 in 1023 AM 02/10 41.64N/84.25W
Wauseon 3.0 in 0800 AM 02/10 41.54N/84.14W
2 WNW Winameg 2.5 in 1000 AM 02/09 41.63N/84.10W
...Henry County...
Napoleon 3.5 in 0745 AM 02/09 41.40N/84.13W
3 SE Mcclure 3.4 in 0700 AM 02/10 41.33N/83.91W
Gallup 1.8 in 0800 AM 02/10 41.46N/84.15W
...Paulding County...
Paulding 2.5 in 0800 AM 02/10 41.12N/84.60W
...Putnam County...
1 N Ottawa 1.1 in 0700 AM 02/10 41.04N/84.04W
...Williams County...
Bryan 5.5 in 0114 PM 02/09 41.47N/84.55W
Montpelier 3.0 in 0930 AM 02/09 41.58N/84.60W
1 NW Bryan 2.8 in 0830 AM 02/09 41.48N/84.56W
Observations are collected from a variety of sources with varying
equipment and exposures. We thank all volunteer weather observers
for their dedication. Not all data listed are considered official.
Environment
Surface maps below (Fig. 1-9) show the initially stationary front to our southwest that gradually lifted northward as warm front. Warm, moist air was transported over this frontal boundary (Figs. 12, 13), leading to the initial light to moderate snowfall, with accumulations of 1-5" observed through 7 am EST on February 9th. Soon after, an upper level jet (Fig. 10) and mid level shortwave (Fig. 11) brought additional forcing to the low pressure system, inducing a frontogenetic response (Fig. 15). This forcing combined with steep mid level lapse rates (Fig. 14) aloft led to the heavier snowfall observed from roughly 7 am EST February 9th onward.
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| Figure 1: Sfc Weather Map: 7pm ET Feb 8, 2018. WPC | Figure 2: Sfc Weather Map: 11 pm ET Feb 8, 2018. WPC | Figure 3: Sfc Weather Map: 1 am ET Feb 9, 2018. WPC |
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| Figure 4: Sfc Weather Map: 4 am ET Feb 9, 2018. WPC | Figure 5: Sfc Weather Map: 7 am ET Feb 9, 2018. WPC | Figure 6: Sfc Weather Map: 10 am ET Feb 9, 2018. WPC |
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| Figure 7: Sfc Weather Map: 1 pm ET Feb 9, 2018. WPC | Figure 8: Sfc Weather Map: 4pm ET Feb 9, 2018. WPC | Figure 9: Sfc Weather Map: 7 pm ET Feb 9, 2018. WPC |
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| Figure 10: Upper Level Jet, Divergence in Pink (SPC) | Figure 11: Mid-Level (500mb) Shortwave approaching the area (SPC) | Figure 12: 850mb Moisture Transport into the area (SPC) |
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| Figure 13: 850mb Warm Air Advection during the morning of Feb 9th (SPC) | Figure 14: Mid Level Lapse Rates at 1 pm EST February 9th (SPC) | Figure 15: 700mb Frontogenesis, 1 pm EST February 9th (SPC) |
Frontogenesis
Frontogenesis (FGEN) is an atmospheric phenomena that leads to the genesis of a front or intensification of a pre-existing frontal zone. It occurs beneath the exit region of upper level jet streaks where converging winds amplify the horizontal temperature gradient across the frontal zone. This in turn leads to enhanced uplift across the frontal zone and is often accompanied by heavy precipitation.
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| Figure 1: Conceptual model of atmospheric circulations that develop in response to upper level jet streaks. | Figure 2: 300mb Jet Circulations (pink contours): 1 pm ET Feb 9, 2018. | Figure 3: GOES-R Visible Image (yellow contour denotes frontogenesis with shallow convection/enhanced precipitation taking place): 12 pm ET Feb 9, 2018. |
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