Significant Ice Storms in Lafayette, IN

[Hoosier]

This is something I've been wanting to do for a while and I finally got around to it.  So far I've researched significant icing events going back to 1965 and plan to continue my research but I thought I would post what I have so far.

 

My focus is on events that produced around a quarter inch of ice or greater.  After determining which events met that criteria, I then assigned an estimated ice accretion amount/range for each storm.  This was not an easy task as ice records are not nearly as good as snow records.  When formulating an accretion estimate, I used a reduction factor of around .5 for storms that had marginal temperatures and heavy precipitation.  For storms that were a bit colder and/or had less precip, I used a reduction factor of .8 to .9.  I can't guarantee that all of my ranges are accurate...they are simply a best guess based on available information.

 

Data sources that I used are hourly observation archives, Storm Data, Hourly Precipitation Data, NARR and NOAA Daily Weather Maps. 

 

 

Dates/Estimated Ice Amounts:

 

 

1/26-1/27/1967:  0.75” - 0.99”
3/4-3/5/1967:  0.25” - 0.49”
2/4/1971:  ~0.25”
12/12/1972:  0.25” - 0.49”
1/25/1976:  ~0.25”
3/24-3/25/1978:  0.25” - 0.49”
1/13/1979:  0.25” - 0.49”
2/14-2/15/1990:  0.50” - 0.74”
3/12-3/13/1991:  1” or greater
2/11-2/12/1993:  ~0.25”
1/5-1/6/2005:  0.25” - 0.49”
2/24/2007:  ~0.25”
12/9/2007:  0.25” - 0.49”
12/18-12/19/2008:  ~0.25”
 

 

Approximate surface low tracks for the storms listed above

 

 

 

There were a couple events that I did not include due to lack of confidence in ice amounts.  One that comes to mind is 3/18/1992.  It's possible that there was close to 1/4" ice...there certainly was just north of here.

 

An interesting thing is how the significant events seem to come in bunches.  There may not be an explanation for it, but if there is, I don't have one. 

[Hoosier]

Here's a gallery of pics from the March 1991 ice storm:

 

http://www.jconline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/gallery?Avis=BY&Dato=20121227&Kategori=MULTIMEDIA06&Lopenr=312270017&Ref=PH

[Chicago WX]

Great job. The storm tracks map was a nice addition.

[Hoosier]

Great job. The storm tracks map was a nice addition.

 

 

Thanks. 

 

As you can see, most of the tracks had a northeasterly component to the motion with one important exception...March 1991.  Tight cluster near the Ohio River but there's another group that is farther north.  Generally speaking, the tracks that went over or west of us were not big ice producers (near 0.25" or just barely snuck into the >0.25" category)...classic front-end ice scenarios before warming above freezing.

[bowtie`]

I remember that 1991 storm well. Was driving back from Minneapolis. Hit the Crown Pointe exit and they had Bradleys forcing all traffic off of 65. Also had Bradleys  allowing no one to use the side roads unless you had ID that proved you lived there. Some high tension lines came down across the interstate and quite a bit of the area. They made us stay there till the repairs which was the next morning. Was really a sight the next morning with the sun out and all the ice on everything. Everything was coated till I got south of Frankfort and it was like someone flicked a switch and turned off the ice.

[Chicago WX]

Video of the March 1991 ice storm from Clinton County. The opening is a little weird, but there are good shots of the ice damage from about 2:00 to 8:00.

 

 

Interestingly, there is a radio announcement around the 7:00 mark of a WSW for up to 10" of snow, along with pl and zr. Heh.

[Hoosier]

Here's the Storm Data writeup for Indiana for the March 1991 storm.

 

 

A destructive ice storm coated much of northern Indiana with 1 to 3 inches of ice.  Six to twelve inches of snow fell in a band across far northern Indiana.  The heaviest snow fell in the Plymouth area, where a foot of snow was reported.  A state of emergency was declared in 18 northern Indiana counties.  At the height of the storm around 200,000 homes were without power.  There was widespread damage to trees, and thousands of wooden utility poles were snapped or toppled.  Over 100 steel power line towers were also destroyed.  During the ice storm easterly winds gusted to around 40 mph, and this helped contribute to the widespread damage.  Many roads in north central Indiana were closed due to downed limbs, trees, and power lines.  Some rural areas remained without power until the first part of April.  Total damage was estimated between $80 and $100 million.

[cyclone77]

Video of the March 1991 ice storm from Clinton County. The opening is a little weird, but there are good shots of the ice damage from about 2:00 to 8:00.

 

 

Interestingly, there is a radio announcement around the 7:00 mark of a WSW for up to 10" of snow, along with pl and zr. Heh.

 

 

Pretty cool video.  That opening was definitely a bit creepy though.

 

I like that "up to 10 inches by evening", and then "but fortunately the snow never comes".  They must have been riding the NAM lol.  Or I guess it may have been ETA back then.

[Geos]

Great video. Very informative.