Discover the Biggest Snowstorm to Ever Hit Indiana on Christmas

When it comes to winter there are places in the United States that get snow and there are places that don’t. Southern California is sunny and delicious during December, January, and February. However, the Northeast is always gloomy and rainy and even snowy. When it comes to the Midwest, states like Indiana, it’s a hit-and-miss. Sometimes there will be snowstorms in the winter and sometimes there won’t. Once in a blue moon, Indiana may even get storms on Christmas. Let’s take a look at the biggest snowstorm to ever hit Indiana on Christmas. We’ll take you through the details of the blizzard, the impacts of the blizzard, and the aftermath.

Christmas Snowstorm of 2004

The year 2004 was big because two storms hit the United States around Christmas time. One hit Texas on Christmas Eve and the other hit the Midwest starting on December 22 and dissipated on Christmas Eve 2004.

What happened was that on December 22nd an arctic cold front made its way into the Midwest. The front brought cold air and then about a few hours later, snowfall hit the region. There was between 4 to 10 hours of snowfall, followed by 3 to 6 hours of sleet and rain. Afterward, there were 13 hours of rain and snow.

Finally, after an intense 30 hours, the storm moved away. The end result was a winter wonderland on Christmas morning with up to 9 inches of snow just in Indiana alone. Some parts in the Midwest other than Indiana got up to 29 inches.

Indiana’s Wildlife During the Storm

Indiana has an abundance of wildlife. Regularly, if you are in Indiana, you are bound to see many animals like raccoons, badgers, bobcats, chipmunks, and black bears. You may even see cottontail rabbits hopping around. But we all know that during winter, many animals hide somewhere or leave the area. Birds go south for winter, while bears may hibernate. But some animals stay in Indiana for winter.

The animals that either stay in Indiana or migrate to Indiana for winter are very interesting. You may see coyotes while you walk your dog on a snowy day. If you look up you may even see some birds that don’t go south for winter. They include eastern bluebirds, crows, cardinals, bluejays, falcons, and even sparrows. As for the bird that migrates to Indiana for winter, those are the snowy owls. They come from Canada.

Impacts and Aftermath of the Snowstorm

Some places in the Midwest got over 20 inches of snow. But the record snowfall was in Medora, IN, where the city got a whopping 39 inches of snowfall. Immediately after the storm, Evansville, IN, got a horrid negative 11 degrees Fahrenheit on Christmas Day. The effect of this ended up closing several interstates for a couple of days. Five people died during the snowstorm in Indiana alone. 

Throughout the Midwest region, there were more than 100,000 vehicle accidents caused by the horrible weather. The roofs of many buildings were destroyed because of the heavy snow and ice. And nearly 1 million residents were without power and phone communication for days. The damages in the region ended up costing over $900 million.

Conclusion

And there you have it, the biggest snowstorm to ever hit Indiana on Christmas was the eponymous snowstorm of 2004. Of course, intense snow storms usually don’t happen in the Midwest but there are exceptions. Many other snowstorms have hit the Midwest over the years. One such example was the 1909 Christmas snowstorm that pummeled the Midwest and the Northeast.