Jan 31 to Feb 2 2015 Snowstorm

January 31st-February 2nd, 2015 Winter Storm

Updated 2/3/2015 3 pm EST

Overview	Snowfall Map	What Caused This Event?
Products Issued	Radar Loop	List of Reports

Light snow began to move in from west to east during the evening hours of January 31st. During the early morning hours of February 1st, the snow began to mix with rain, with all rain or drizzle in many locations by the daylight hours generally along and south of US-24, resulting in lower overall storm total snow amounts. However, by early afternoon, all locations switched over to snow, which became locally heavy at times from mid afternoon into the early evening hours. North of US-24, snow persisted through much of the daylight hours of February 1st with many areas seeing snowfall rates of 1 to 2 inches per hour from late morning into mid afternoon. Winds began to pickup during the late afternoon and evening hours, causing blowing and drifting snow.

48-hour Snowfall Totals

What Caused This Event?

WV imagery (Fig 1 below) set the stage for a significant winter storm ahead of a potent northern stream shortwave disturbance, denoted by black X over eastern Nebraska. A large sub-tropical moisture plume (precipitable water analysis in inches, cyan contours) associated with a southern stream shortwave disturbance over northwest Mexico became entrained into the northern wave and was advected northward overtop a retreating polar airmass. Normal precipitable water values for this time of year are around 0.25" but increased to 0.75" across central Indiana by the afternoon of February 1st. This led to a long duration of sustained signficant moisture advection known as a warm conveyor belt into a retreating shallow cold layer over the Great Lakes and Ohio Valley. Light snow developed quickly the night of January 31st and became heavy the the morning of February 1st timed with maximizing moisture advection and further intensified through the afternoon and evening of the 1st when snowfall rates of 1-2" per hour were observed.

12Z Feb 1 2015 water vapor/precipitable water analysis image

Fig 1 7 am EST Feb 1, 2015 water vapor/precipitable water analysis

Products Issued

Write-up to come


Feb 1 333 pm EST Satellite Precipitation Estimate Message	Feb 1 640 pm EST Satellite Precipitation Estimate Message


Feb 1 949 pm EST Satellite Precipitation Estimate Message	Feb 1 843 am EST Storm Prediction Mesoscale Discussion

Feb 1 235 pm EST Storm Prediction Mesoscale Discussion

Radar Loop

Light snow developed late Saturday night with most locations experiencing accumulations of 1 to 3 inches by daybreak Sunday. The intensity of the snow rapidly increased during the morning hours Sunday, with a particularly intense snow band from northwest Indiana into far north central Indiana. Moderate to heavy snow continued through the day, and the focus for the heaviest snow shifted into southern lower Michigan Sunday evening before tapering off. The following shows the radar evolution for the entire snowstorm spanning from late Saturday evening through late Sunday night.

List of Snowfall Reports

Below are selected snowfall reports received during the event. The NWS would like to thank spotters, emergency management, the public, cooperative observers, CoCoRaHS observers, broadcast media, and amateur radio operators for providing valuable reports during this event.

Location	Total Snowfall Amount
Buchanan, MI 1.4 ESE	21.0
La Porte, IN 1.6 SW	20.9
Trail Creek, IN 4.5 ESE	20.5
Plymouth, IN 2.6 N	19.6
Leesburg, IN 6.7 ESE	17.2
Millersburg, IN 0.5 SW	17.1
Springville, IN 1 ESE	17
Kingsbury, IN 1 N	17
Simonton Lake, IN	16.3
Plymouth, IN	16.2
Moscow, MI 1.0 NE	16.0
Shipshewana, IN	16
Kendallville, IN 4.5 NW	16
Paw Paw, IN 3.6 NNE	15.8
Goshen, IN 1.2 WNW	15.3
Walkerton, IN 5.7 ENE	15.2
Wauseon, OH	15.2
Roseland, IN	15
Buchanan, MI 1.4 ESE	15
Angola, IN	14.9
Syracuse, IN 0.9 SW	14.9
Bremen, IN	14.5
North Liberty, IN	14.5
South Bend, IN 4.5 SE	14.3
Wauseon, OH 9.0 NW	14.3
Wakarusa, IN 0.3 WSW	14.2
Mishawaka, IN 3.0 N	14.2
Niles, MI 2.7 W	14.2
Dowagiac, MI 5.3 NNW	14.2
Warsaw, IN 1.4 N	14
Plymouth, IN 2.5 WSW	14
Coldwater, MI	14
North Webster, IN 2.3 N	13.9
South Bend, IN 4.6 SE	13.7
Elkhart, IN 4.8 SW	13.5
De Motte, IN 1.2 SSW	13.5
Bass Lake, IN	13.5
Litchfield, MI 0.3 ENE	13.4
Wakarusa, IN 2.4 NNE	13.3
Knox, IN	13
De Motte, IN 0.8 NNW	12.5
Leesburg, IN 0.1 WNW	12.5
Hudson, IN 4.6 N	12.5
Benton Harbor, MI	12.5
Napoleon, OH 0.6 WSW	12.5
Warsaw, IN 2.7 ENE	12.4
Granger, IN 2.9 W	12.4
Leo, IN 2.2 NW	12.3
Wallen, IN 2.0 S	12
Garrett, OH	12
Stevensville, MI 1.7 SSE	12
Delta, OH	12
Fort Wayne, IN 7.0 NE	11.5
Angola, IN 4.1 N	11.5
Winona Lake, IN 1.1 E	11.2
Akron, IN	11
Claypool, IN 1.2 E	11
Wanatah, IN 2 WNW	11
Auburn, IN 0.8 NE	10.8
Antwerp, OH	10.6
Columbia City, IN 8.4 N	10.5
Grover Hill, OH	10
(W9OPR)Wheatfield, IN 1.4 ENE	10
Winamac, IN	10
Fort Wayne Airport	9.8
Fort Wayne, IN 4.1 NE	9.8
De Motte, IN 4.1 SW	9.5
Fort Wayne, IN	9.4
Rochester, IN 2.4 NW	9.3
McClure, OH 3.4 SSE	9.3
Woodburn, IN 3 N	9.2
Fort Wayne, IN 2.6 NE	9.1
Huntertown, IN 2.6 ESE	9
De Motte, IN 5.9 S	9
Denver, IN 1.3 NE	8.2
Headlee, IN	8
North Manchester, IN	8
Paulding, OH	8
Van Wert, OH	7.5
Huntington, IN 0.3 W	6.7
Monticello, IN 5.5 NNW	6.5
Chalmers, IN 5 W	6
Decatur, IN 1 N	6
Columbus Grove, OH	6
Lima, OH 1.0 W	5.5
Young America	5.4
Van Buren, IN	5
Atlanta 4.1 ENE	5
Bluffton 0.9 SE	5
Peru, IN	4.6
Hartford City, IN 4.0 ESE	3
Marion, IN 2 N	3
Portland, IN 2.3 S	1.6
Marion, IN 4.2 SSE	1.5

Updated 2/3/2015
LF/EB/PBM/TH