Editorโs note: This story was updated at 4:45 p.m. on Jan. 6, 2025.
Mother Nature made a big first impression in 2025.
Tall drifts of snow blanketed the Evansville area early the morning of Jan. 5, with up to an inch of ice dialing up the danger later that afternoon. As residents largely stayed indoors, downed power lines left thousands of households in the dark for hours, leading city and county officials to declare a state of emergency.
Ahead of the storm, the National Weather Service Center in Paducah, Kentucky, issued a winter storm warning featuring a mix of snow and ice in Vanderburgh, Posey, Warrick, Spencer, Gibson, and Pike counties in Southwestern Indiana. By Sunday afternoon, that warning had been extended to noon Monday.
Fluffy snowflakes spent hours blanketing the Evansville area, with the area around State Hwy. 57 and Baseline Road recording nearly five inches Sunday morning. Freezing rain then set in after noon, accompanied by thunder in some places southwest of Evansville, according to the Evansville Vanderburgh County Emergency Management Agency. By 3 p.m., Indiana State Police Sgt. Todd Ringle reported slick roads and hazardous driving conditions. An hour later, CenterPoint Energy was reporting outages for more than 2,000 customers in Evansville and the immediate surrounding area. As the sunset, residents reported ice-laden downed power lines and heard the crack of splintering tree limbs, which were making their mark: The number of CenterPoint Energy customers without power had crossed 20,000 by 8:40 p.m. Jan. 5.
CenterPoint Energy reported that about 44,500 Southwest Indiana customers remained without power as of 4 p.m. Jan. 6. The total for the storm peaked at 60,000 early that morning.
Seventy crews from CenterPoint and other utility companies are deployed to work on restoration, says Noah Stubbs, a CenterPoint communications specialist.
Heavy ice accumulation from the storm impacted power lines and caused countless trees and limbs to fall across the region, Stubbs says, and the tens of thousands of outages are “widespread.”
CenterPoint has no timeline on when power will be restored to all customers and is setting an expectation of “multiple days,” Stubbs says. The utility is encouraging its area customers without power to utilize warming shelters and other local resources as necessary.
Sunday evening, Mayor Stephanie Terryโs office and the Vanderburgh County Council jointly declared a state of emergency, activating disaster plans, aid, and recovery responses.
For the Evansville Area Jeepers, the snow-and-ice-packed roads produced a moment to shine. The social club of Jeep owners trekked out into what they dubbed โOperation Snowflakeโ to help transport medical employees to work. Owners of Prime Time North tipped their cap to the Jeepers by offering them, along with first responders, 20 percent off an upcoming restaurant order.
Several organizations opened their doors as warming stations. United Caring Services and Evansville Rescue Mission prepared to host guests around the clock under a White Flag declaration, which goes into effect when overnight temperatures stay below 40 degrees for three consecutive hours. C.K. Newsome Community Center and several Evansville Vanderburgh Public Library locations planned to take in residents seeking shelter during daytime hours. Additional shelters were set up at Ruthโs House, Ozanam Family Shelter, Albion Fellows Bacon Center, House of Bread and Peace, YWCA Evansville, Central High School, Lincoln School, St. Benedict Cathedral School, and the James T. Greshman house. The Metropolitan Evansville Transit System also announced free rides on all routes for Jan. 6.
โThe safety of every resident is our top priority, especially during extreme weather events,โ Sgt. Josh Brewer of Evansville Police Departmentโs Crime Prevention Unit said in a statement. โOur officers will be actively patrolling and assisting individuals in need of emergency shelter. If you see someone who may need immediate help, please contact us. Together, we can ensure no one is left out in the cold.โ
Potterโs Wheel, the Salvation Army, St. Anthonyโs Church, and more organizations began offering emergency hot meals in a staggered schedule Sunday.
Area grocery stores saw long lines Saturday in the hours leading up to the winter storm. On Sunday, many โ including several Walmart stores, Aldiโs, and all Schnucks locations in the Evansville area โ announced plans to close that afternoon and reopen Monday morning. Other businesses also changed course. After stating on social media that all locations would close at 3 p.m. Sunday, Donut Bank officials made the decision to close each branch at noon.
Students and educators who had been off school for the holidays had their break extended into another week. Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporationโs planned staff development day allowed students to stay home Jan. 6. University of Evansville and University of Southern Indiana officials closed their respective campuses. Ivy Tech Community College Evansville switched Jan. 6 classes to virtual learning the day prior.
