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Summary of 2005 Indiana Weather & Climate Events (Public information statement from National Weather Service Northern Indiana,
Jan 4 2006 The year of 2005 will go down in the record books as a year of extremes weather wise. Periods of warmth...cold...drought and flooding and everything in-between were experienced during the course of the year. When all of these extremes were averaged out for the entire year...2005 ended up a little warmer and much drier than normal as a whole. 2005 started off on a very wet note with January precipitation more than double the normal. Several snow and ice storms and heavy rainfall events produced the copious amounts of precipitation. at some volunteer observing sites in eastern Indiana and northwest Ohio precipitation totals for January 2005 were between 6 and 7 inches...which is about 3 times normal. All this water lead to major and widespread river flooding. Snowfall was also above normal with between 15 and 25 inches falling across the region for the month. After the very wet and snowy January a dry period began which would last through the rest of 2005...with only brief periods of greater precipitation. in fact...south bend has had below normal precipitation for 11 months in a row...from February 2005 through December ended as the 4th driest year on record in south bend. Fort Wayne was also dry...although not nearly as dry as south bend. In Fort Wayne the majority of months from March through December were below normal. Temperatures...when compared to normal...showed a roller coaster ride for much of the year. In January temperatures averaged near normal to start off the year. February turned well above normal with temperatures 3 to 4 degrees above average. The pendulum swung the other way in March with temperatures dipping 3 to 5 degrees below normal during a cold start to the spring. In April the roller coaster ride continued with temperatures averaging 3 to 4 degrees above normal. The pendulum once again swung back to the cold side for May with temperatures that month averaging around 3 degrees below normal. Once summer began the pendulum swung back to warm and stayed there with the entire summer averaging 2 to 3 degrees above average. After several relatively cool summers the summer of 2005 was hot. Temperatures of 90 degrees or greater occurred on 20 days in south bend and 22 days in Fort Wayne . The warm weather continued into the fall with each one of the 3 fall months coming in above normal. In early December the pattern abruptly shifted however and a prolonged period of cold gripped the region. The month ended up about 5 degrees below average...but the first half of the month was exceptionally cold. The first 15 days of December averaged 10 to 13 degrees below normal. The following is a list of temperature and precipitation data and departure from average for south bend and Fort Wayne for each month...season...and the year. Official records at south bend date back to 1939. Official records in Fort Wayne began in 1911.
Major Weather Events in 2005 The following is a summary of the significant weather events which affected northern Indiana ...northwest Ohio ...and southern Lower Michigan in 2005. January 5th ice and snow storm A severe ice storm devastated parts of central Indiana and northwest Ohio with between 1 and 2 inches of freezing rain. The worst was along and just south of the Wabash River in Indiana and around Lima and Van Wert in northwest Ohio . Parts of van wert county reported ice accumulations in excess of 2 inches. These severe ice accumulations resulted in widespread power outages. Farther north over extreme northern Indiana and southern Lower Michigan 4 to 6 inches of snow fell along with some sleet and freezing rain. January 8th mesoscale banding snowfall A fast moving upper level disturbance produced an intense mesoscale band of snowfall across parts of the region during the early morning hours of January 8th. The rapid deepening of the upper level low pressure in combination with a strong upper level jet streak provided the necessary ingredients to produce a concentrated band of heavy snow. The snow fell in a narrow band across the central portion of northern Indiana . 5 to 8 inches of snow fell in just a few hours from near Rochester Indiana through Warsaw and Ligonier. Snowfall rates of 3 to 4 inches per hour were reported within this band. January 12th through 25th major river flooding Several snow and ice storms in early January lead to an unusually high amount of water being stored on the ground in the form of snow and ice. The liquid equivalent of the snow and ice pack on the ground was between 2 and 3 inches across much of the region. a significant push of warm air moved into the area on january 12th and produced a rapid melting of all the snow and ice that was on the ground. In addition...heavy rainfall averaging over an inch also occurred during this warm-up. The combination of rainfall and melting snow and ice lead to a huge amount of water running off into area rivers. Significant flooding was observed on every major river system in the region. No record river levels were observed...however many river observing points did reach into the top 5 crests ever recorded. Due to the tireless efforts of the forecasters and other staff at the national weather service in northern Indiana and other forecast offices and river forecast centers...the office received the department of commerce silver medal award...the second highest award given by the department. February 28th through March 3rd lake effect snowstorm A deepening area of low pressure pulled cold air south across Lake Michigan and produced a significant late season lake effect snowstorm. Multiple bands of lake effect snow as well as a light general snowfall dropped a widespread 2 to 4 inches across most of the region over the 4 day period. Two intense single bands of lake effect snow formed as well. The first formed on February 28th over portions of southwest Lower Michigan and north central Indiana . The second formed overnight on march 2nd into the early morning of March 3rd slightly northeast from the location of the first band. After all was said and done many areas of northwest and north central Indiana and southwest lower Michigan received around a foot of snow. The highest total of around 18 inches was in Niles Michigan which was affected by both intense bands. Strong northwest winds of 20 to 30 mph allowed the bands to penetrate well inland with 5 to 10 inches of snow falling 50 to 60 miles inland from the lake. April 23rd and 24th spring snowfall A strong low pressure system combined with an unusually cold air mass to produce accumulating snowfall in late April across much of northern Indiana ...southern lower Michigan...and northwest Ohio . Green grass and spring flowers were covered by 1 to 3 inches of accumulation. much heavier snowfall amounts were recorded in southeast lower Michigan in the Detroit area where up to a foot and a half of snow fell. May 11th severe thunderstorms produce golf ball sized hail Several waves of severe thunderstorms moved across portions of northeast Indiana and northwest Ohio during the afternoon and early evening hours. Four reports of golf ball sized hail were received in grant and Blackford counties in Indiana and Paulding county in Ohio . Numerous reports of penny to quarter sized hail were also received. May 13th severe thunderstorms produce wind damage and hail A warm front lifted north across the region and allowed a very warm and moist air mass to move into the area. Abundant sunshine destabilized this warm and moist air mass with numerous severe thunderstorms developing during the afternoon and early evening. Many reports of downed trees and power lines were received. The roof of an auto body shop was ripped off near convoy Ohio . A semi truck was blown over in coldwater Michigan . June 5th severe thunderstorm outbreak Widespread severe thunderstorms moved across the region during the afternoon and evening. Wind damage was reported in almost every county in northern Indiana ...southern Lower Michigan...and northwest Ohio . There were a few reports of large hail as well. Unfortunately one man died near Dunlap Indiana after he was struck by a roof which blew off a barn. June 30th severe thunderstorms an upper level trough combined with an old outflow boundary left behind by thunderstorms earlier in the day lead to the formation of a cluster of severe thunderstorms over parts of the region during the late afternoon and early evening. Numerous reports were received of trees and power lines down along with penny to golf ball sized hail. July 21st damaging winds and isolated large hail A very warm...moist...and extremely unstable airmass was in place across the region as a mid level disturbance approached the area. Severe thunderstorms quickly developed during the afternoon and evening with widespread reports of trees down throughout much of the region. a few reports of isolated large hail were also received. July 25th severe thunderstorms with damaging winds A weak cold front combined with a very warm and unstable airmass allowed a cluster of thunderstorms to develop over Illinois during the early morning hours. The cluster of thunderstorms evolved into a line of storms called a bow echo...which then moved rapidly across the region during the morning producing wind damage. This was an unusual event in that it formed and intensified during the morning...usually the time of minimum thunderstorm activity. July 26th severe thunderstorms July 2005 was a very hot month and the 26th was no exception. The very hot and humid airmass was ripe for thunderstorm development. Isolated severe thunderstorms occurred through much of the afternoon and early evening. These storms produced large hail and isolated damaging winds. By mid evening a more intense line of thunderstorms developed in Illinois and headed east toward the region. This line of thunderstorms took on a configuration known as a line echo wave pattern. This type of severe thunderstorm complex often produces prolific severe weather and isolated tornadoes. This proved to be the case in this event with widespread wind damage in Cass and Miami counties in Indiana . An f2 tornado was also confirmed and tracked through both these counties from onward Indiana to just north of Grissom air reserve base. August 9th tennis ball sized hail near Goshen Indiana A hot and humid airmass with high temperatures in the low 90s provided the necessary energy for isolated severe thunderstorms to develop during the afternoon and early evening. One thunderstorm developed near Fort Wayne in the late afternoon. Rain cooled air from this storm produced an outflow boundary which lead to additional severe thunderstorm development along a line heading northwest from Fort Wayne . The strongest storm of the day was the last to develop along the line in southern Elkhart County . Hail up to the size of tennis balls was reported about 3 miles south of Goshen . Up to 3.50 inches of rain with this storm produced flash flooding which prompted the temporary closure of several roads in southern Elkhart County. August 13th severe thunderstorms A strong cold front crossed the region and brought a temporary end to the heat and humidity which was common during the summer of 2005. This cool down came at a price however with several severe thunderstorms. Most of the wind damage and hail reports from this event were in Indiana along the Wabash river valley. One f1 tornado was confirmed in Fulton County near the town of Fulton . The tornado produced minor damage to several homes and rolled over a utility trailer. September 22nd severe thunderstorms A cluster of severe thunderstorms moved slowly southeast across southern Lower Michigan...extreme northeast Indiana ...and northwest Ohio . Numerous reports of large hail were received...including several reports of golf ball sized hail near Fremont Indiana in Steuben county. November 6th late season severe weather outbreak A very strong cold front and upper level disturbance approached the region during the pre-dawn hours of November 6th. The strong cold front encountered just enough instability in the marginally warm and moist airmass over the region to produce a narrow band of thunderstorms and showers. A low topped line of convection moved across much of the region and produced widespread wind damage. Most of the damage was in the form of downed trees and power lines. Some of the most significant damage was in Marion and upland Indiana where 8 to 10 barns and 3 mobile homes were destroyed. During this same outbreak of severe weather widespread tornadoes occurred farther south in the Ohio valley including the deadly tornado in Evansville Indiana . November 12th late season severe weather outbreak Another very strong cold front and upper level disturbance continued the string of unusually large November severe weather outbreaks in 2005. Another active day of tornadoes was experienced south of the region from central and southern Indiana south into Tennessee . In our region only isolated severe thunderstorms occurred. An f1 tornado was confirmed in grant county Indiana just southwest of the town of Van Buren . The tornado produced only minor damage to a grain elevator and knocked down several rows of power lines. A truck was also blown off of interstate 69. December 8th and 9th widespread heavy snowfall The first and only widespread significant snowfall of the fall and early winter of 2005 produced 7 to 10 inches of snow across the region. A strong upper level disturbance coupled with an area of low pressure at the surface moved slowly east across the Ohio valley and produced a wide swath of snow throughout much of the Ohio valley and southern great lakes region. Severe weather reports for 2005 The following are the total severe weather reports for the year of 2005 in the area served by the national weather service forecast office in northern Indiana . This includes 37 counties in northern Indiana ...northwest Ohio ...and southern Lower Michigan . Note that when wind damage is deemed to be widespread in a particular county...many of the reports are lumped into one. Tornadoes 4 tornadoes were confirmed in 2005. Hail and damaging winds 322 reports of hail 3/4 of an inch or greater and damaging winds were received. |
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