INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — Central Indiana had one of its bigger weather years in 2023 that we’ve endured in recent memory.

We saw it all from severe weather to bad air quality and even a glimpse of the northern lights in April.

Here are my top 5 biggest weather events of 2023:

5. Jan. 25: Wet snowstorm

Central Indiana did not have many snow events this year. Jan. 25 was the snowiest single day of 2023 with 2.8 inches of snow falling. In addition to the accumulating snow, we had multiple reports of thundersnow which is a rare phenomenon.

However, the most memorable part of this system was how wet the snow was. A rule of thumb liquid to snow ratio is 10:1. With this event, a very wet 4:1 snow ratio was recorded. Retired Storm Track 8 meteorologist Randy Ollis referred to this snow as the wettest he had seen in his 39 years at WISH-TV.

4. June 28: One of the world’s worst air qualities

Everyone remembers the Canadian wildfire smoke that wreaked havoc across the entire U.S. this summer. One specific day stands out this summer and that would be June 28. Shockingly, Indianapolis at one point had one of the worst air qualities in the entire world.

Our upper-air pattern drove the smoke into Indiana that week, but high pressure and sinking air caused that smoke to reach the surface. It is very rare to see air quality this bad in Indiana.

3. June 29: Derecho

The very next day after having some of the worst air quality in the world, an impressive complex of storms moved through the state. This storm system was officially classified as a derecho by the U.S. Storm Prediction Center.

A derecho is a widespread, long-lived windstorm that produces wind gusts of at least 58 mph with a damage swath of at least 240 miles. High wind reports stretched from eastern Nebraska all the way into Indiana. Indianapolis had an official wind gust of 70 mph.

2. June 25: Large hail and tornadoes

You may be sensing a theme here, and that was the wild weather in June. Grapefruit-sized hail fell in Kirklin on the evening of June 25. There were many reports of golf ball-sized hail and above in sections of the state.

Four tornadoes also occurred in central Indiana. Most notably an EF2 in Johnson County that was right in our Storm Track 8 meteorologist Marcus Bailey’s backyard. Unfortunately, one of the tornadoes that happened in southern Martin County killed one person. This was not Indiana’s only deadly tornado of the year.

1.) March 31-April 1: Tornado outbreak

This one was unforgettable. Twenty-three tornadoes happened in Indiana in the nighttime hours, which added up to Indiana’s fifth-largest tornado outbreak ever recorded. Here are some of the strongest tornadoes from that day in Indiana:

• Sullivan in Sullivan County: EF-3; maximum winds of 165 mph (upped from 155).
• Whiteland in Johnson County: EF-3; maximum winds of 140 mph.
• Gas City in Grant County: EF-3; maximum winds of 140 mph.
• McCormick’s Creek State Park in Owen County: EF-3; maximum winds of 153 mph (upped from 138).

Unfortunately, multiple fatalities resulted from this outbreak. Three lives were lost in Sullivan County and two other lives were lost in McCormick’s Creek State Park. There are also several notable stats this outbreak generated that haven’t taken place in quite some time in our state:

• First deadly tornado in Indiana since the infamous Henryville, IN EF-4 on March 3, 2012.
• First deadly tornado within central Indiana since the Moscow, IN EF-3 on June 3, 2008.
• First time with more than one deadly tornado in the same day in Indiana since June 2, 1990.