Indiana

20 years after 2004 snowstorms called for National Guard, will Indiana see a white Christmas?

Published

1 year ago

December 23, 2024

20 years after 2004 snowstorms called for National Guard, will Indiana see a white Christmas?

Today is the 20th anniversary of incapacitating snowstorms in Indiana. What are the chances of a white Christmas in Indianapolis in 2024?

What is a white Christmas?

It need not snow Dec. 25 to fit the weather service’s definition of a white Christmas: There just needs to be at least 1 inch of snow on the ground. A trace amount of snow does not count. On average, about 38% of the contiguous 48 states has an inch of snow on the ground on Christmas Day, according to 21 years of data compiled by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Will it snow in Central Indiana this Christmas?

On Christmas Eve, there’s a 20% chance of rain after 1 p.m., with patchy fog before noon, according to the National Weather Service. The high is expected to be near 41 degrees. There’s a 50% chance of rain at night, mainly after 1 a.m.

It will be a mild Christmas Day. Expect rain, mainly before 1 p.m. The high will be near 42 degrees. At night there’s a 20% chain of rain before 1 a.m., with the low around 39 degrees.

Indianapolis this year experienced its third warmest fall on record, according to a recent report by NWS. Average temperatures hovered near 60 degrees, roughly four degrees above normal.

Record-breaking pre-Christmas snowstorms’ 20th anniversary

Christmas 2024 will be quite a bit different from Christmas Day twenty years ago when pre-Christmas back-to-back snowstorms dumped a total of more than two feet of snow on central Indiana, shut down highways and resulted in Blackhawk helicopters being resued to find stranded motorists.

According to the National Weather Service, two separate snowstorms started in the Central Plains and eventually hit southern and central Indiana on December 22 and December 23. They brought record or near record snowfall to parts of south central and east central Indiana and significant snowfall to the rest of central Indiana.

Snowfall totals exceeded 20 inches across most of southeastern Indiana with Seymour reporting a two-day record of 29 inches. The area bounded by Vincennes, Terre Haute, Muncie and Kokomo saw a general eight to 12 inches with snowfall amounts diminishing to just a few inches northwest towards Lafayette.

The weather closed Interstates 64, 65 and 74 in various locations across the state, crippled Interstate 70, and caused a train derailment and collision in southern Indiana.

One hundred National Guardsmen were called out in some areas, particularly in those areas where motorists were stranded. Two Blackhawk helicopters and 47 Humvees were used in searching for stranded motorists.

What is the average temperature on Christmas Day in Indianapolis?

Average highs across the Indianapolis area on Christmas Day are in the mid-30s, according to the NWS, with a normal high of 38.

Average low temperatures range from the low-20s with a normal temperature of 22.

IndyStar reporter John Tufts and USA TODAY reporters Doyle Rice and Elizabeth Weise

Contact IndyStar reporter Cheryl V. Jackson at cheryl.jackson@indystar.com or 317-444-6264. Follow her on X.com:@cherylvjackson or Bluesky: @cherylvjackson.bsky.social.

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Indiana

Suspect in custody after Muncie triple shooting leaves 1 woman dead, 2 men injured

Published

9 hours ago

May 11, 2026

Press Room

Suspect in custody after Muncie triple shooting leaves 1 woman dead, 2 men injured

MUNCIE, Ind. (WISH) — Police are investigating a triple shooting that took place on Muncie’s south side Sunday evening that left a woman dead and two men injured.

According to police, at approximately 5:27 p.m., Muncie Police Officers were dispatched to the 2700 block of South Walnut Street in reference to reports of several people being shot.

Officers arrived and located three gunshot victims: A 23-year-old female who died from “multiple wounds,” a 39-year-old male who is hospitalized in stable condition, and a 40-year-old male who was airlifted to an Indianapolis hospital in critical condition.

Police say a suspect is in custody, a 21-year-old man.

Police did not provide any additional information.

Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Muncie Police Detective Division at 765-747-4867 or dispatch at 765-747-4838.

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Indiana

Indiana Pacers exec apologizes to fans after losing first-round pick

Published

21 hours ago

May 10, 2026

Press Room

Indiana Pacers exec apologizes to fans after losing first-round pick

The Indiana Pacers lost 63 games this season for a chance at a franchise-changing lottery pick. On Sunday, May 10, they lost that chance, too.

All Pacers president Kevin Pritchard could do was apologize for taking the risk.

Indiana’s pick landed at No. 5 in the 2026 NBA Draft Lottery, one spot outside the top four protections attached to a midseason trade. The selection now belongs to the Los Angeles Clippers .

Shortly after the results were announced, Pritchard took social media and apologized.

“I’m really sorry to all our fans,” Pritchard wrote. “I own taking this risk. Surprised it came up 5th after this year. I thought we were due some luck.”

The Pacers entered the lottery with a 52.1% chance of securing a top-four pick after finishing 19-63, the second-worst record in the NBA. It wasn’t enough.

Indiana sent Bennedict Mathurin, Isaiah Jackson, a 2028 second-round pick and a 2029 first-round pick to Los Angeles in the midseason deal for Ivica Zubac and Kobe Brown, along with the conditional 2026 first-rounder. The pick was theirs to keep only if it landed in the top four.

Zubac appeared in just five games for Indiana after the trade because of a fractured rib.

“This team deserved a starting center to compete with the best teams next year,” Pritchard wrote. “We have always been resillient.”

Pritchard will have to be resilient if he looks at the replies to his statement. About half of the Pacers fans’ comments were not happy, and fans of other teams called him out for “tanking.”

There were also a large number of fans who were supportive of Pritchard taking that risk.

Tyrese Haliburton is expected to return next season after tearing his Achilles in last year’s NBA Finals. The Pacers will have him Pascal Siakam and a roster they think is built to compete. They just won’t have that first-round pick to add to it.

The 2026 NBA Draft begins June 23 in Brooklyn.

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Indiana

Why Caitlin Clark went back to Indiana Fever locker room in season opener

Published

1 day ago

May 10, 2026

Press Room

Why Caitlin Clark went back to Indiana Fever locker room in season opener

INDIANAPOLIS — Caitlin Clark has some new strategies to help keep her loose throughout games, and one garnered a lot of attention in the Indiana Fever’s season opener against the Dallas Wings.

Saturday was Clark’s first regular season WNBA game since July 2025, when she suffered a right groin injury against the Connecticut Sun. She was limited to just 13 games last season because of various injuries that compounded and lingered throughout the season, including to her left groin, right groin, left quad, and ankle.

Clark, who finished with 20 points, five rebounds and seven assists in 30 minutes, went back to the Fever’s tunnel twice throughout the 107-104 loss, and she said postgame it was just to get her back readjusted. It’s something new for the Fever star after she missed most of last season because of various injuries, but she didn’t report any major issues with her back.

“It gets out of line pretty quickly,” Clark said. “It’s just that, getting my back put back in place a little bit, but other than that, I feel great.”

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Clark also started wearing a heat therapy pad on her back as well when she’s on the bench, but that doesn’t automatically mean an injury, either. Former Fever player Natasha Howard wore one while sitting on the bench the entire 2025 season, and she did not miss a game.

These back issues, Fever coach Stephanie White said, shouldn’t keep her out of the game.

“We wouldn’t have played her 30 minutes if she wasn’t OK,” White said.

Clark’s response postgame came after ABC’s commentators reported in-game that trainers were working on Clark’s hip flexor and groin area — the same that kept her out of most of the 2025 season. When asked about ABC’s in-game report, White said: “That would be the first time I’ve heard that.”

Fever communications staff added that they did not provide an official update to ABC on why Clark left for the tunnel, so everything reported on the broadcast in-game was speculation.

“I think it’s just part of maintaining the body,” White added of the tunnel trips. “… I mean, look, when we’re all really young, we don’t learn proper mechanics, and then it doesn’t get exposed until something happens, and we’re trying to get her body mechanically the way it needs to go. This is gonna be an ongoing thing, and not just her. We’ve had multiple players who have gone back, and we don’t have a blue tent, right, but they’re gonna go back and get it adjusted and make sure that the body’s working.”

Chloe Peterson is the Indiana Fever beat reporter for IndyStar. Reach her at chloe.peterson@indystar.com or follow her on X at @chloepeterson67. Get IndyStar’s Indiana Fever and Caitlin Clark coverage sent directly to your inbox with our Caitlin Clark Fever newsletter. Subscribe to IndyStar TV: Fever for in-depth analysis, behind-the-scenes coverage and more.

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