Hail and Damaging Winds in Indiana, October 24, 2001

Name: Hail and Damaging Winds in Indiana, October 24, 2001
Start: 2001-10-24T13:50
End: 2001-10-24T14:40
Location: Indiana

October 24, 2001 · NWS LOT · 5 events in 4 counties and zones

A squall line moved east into northwest Indiana during the afternoon of October 24th. Winds gusting as high as 65 mph blew trees and power lines down across many areas.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 0
Property damage: $25,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 5

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

What happened

The episode as NWS LOT wrote it up.

A squall line moved east into northwest Indiana during the afternoon of October 24th. Winds gusting as high as 65 mph blew trees and power lines down across many areas. Trees and power lines were blown down in Hammond in Lake county. An awning on a business was blown down. Trees were blown down in Kentland and Roselawn in Newton county. The worst damage was in Benton county. Trees and power lines were blown down across the entire county including some utility poles. A tool shed was detroyed about 2 miles north of Oxford. Many crops that had not been harvested were flattened by the strong winds.

What forecasters said that day

The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.

NWS Chicago, IL wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Oct 24, 1:30 PM CST, 20 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Oct 24, 1:30 PM CST, 20 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
230 PM CDT WED OCT 24 2001

CDFNT AT 19Z FROM TO ORD TO PIA...EXPECTED TO BE EAST OF ENTIRE CWA
BY 22Z...ENDING SEVERE WEATHER THREAT. POST FRONTAL RAIN CONTINUES
BEHIND THE FRONT TO APPROXIMATELY THE 850 MB TROF...WHICH IS
EXPECTED TO ACCELERATE EASTWARD INTO NE AND E CENTRAL IND BY
00Z...ENDING POST FRONTAL RAIN.

NEXT EVENT IS INCREASING W WINDS AS POWERHOUSE LOW CONTINUES TO
DEEPEN OVER LAKE SUPERIOR TONIGHT. SOME BRIEF GUSTY WINDS WITH FROPA
BUT SUSTAINED WIND GUSTS OF 30+ KTS IS FURTHER W...BEHIND THE
SECONDARY CDFNT FROM NW WI TO NW MO. THIS FRONT TO MOVE ACROSS THE
CWA TONIGHT BRINGING SFC WINDS UP TO 30 MPH AS STRONG CAA SETS
IN.

LOW CONTS TO DEEPEN THU...TIGHTENING PRESSURE GRADIENT...WITH 45 TO
55 KT LOW LEVEL WINDS FORECAST ACROSS CWA. WITH UNIDIRECTIONAL WNW
FLOW THRU MID LEVELS EXPECT STRONG WINDS DOWN TO SFC...THUS WILL
HEADLINE HIGH WIND WATCH FOR THU. LOW LEVEL INSTABILITY AND CYCLONIC
FLOW MAY YIELD SOME SHRA/SNSH THU...BEST CHANCES FURTHEST NORTH.

WINDS GRADUALLY DIMINISH THU NIGHT...BUT STILL WINDY FRI.

.CHI...STORM WARNING IN EFFECT ON LAKE MICHIGAN. HIGH WIND WATCH FOR
ENTIRE CWA FOR THU.

TRS

In the hours before

Local storm report, Oct 24, 8:19 AM CST, 5 hours 31 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
919 AM CDT WED OCT 24 2001

TIME(CDT)  .....CITY LOCATION..... STATE  ...EVENT/REMARKS...
           ....COUNTY LOCATION....

0905 AM    CHICAGO                   IL   .88 INCH HAIL
10/24/01   COOK                           REPORTED BY STORM
                                          SPOTTER.

0913 AM    CHICAGO                   IL   .88 INCH HAIL
10/24/01   COOK                           REPORTED BY PUBLIC.

Special weather statement, Oct 24, 1:50 PM CST, 0 minutes before

<!doctype html>
<html lang="en">
<head>
  <meta charset="utf-8">
  <meta name="viewport" content="width=device-width, initial-scale=1">
  <title>Service Notice</title>
  <link rel="stylesheet" href="index.css">
</head>
<body>
  <main class="wrap">
    <section class="card" role="status" aria-live="polite">
      <div class="status" id="status">Temporary Notice</div>
      <h1 id="headline">This service is currently unavailable.</h1>
      <p id="message1">
        The site you requested is temporarily down for maintenance or an unexpected outage.
      </p>
      <p id="message2">
        Please try again in a few minutes.
      </p>
      <p class="small" id="detail">
        If you are an administrator, restore upstream service and remove the redirect/fallback rule when normal operations resume.
      </p>
    </section>
  </main>
  <script src="index.js"></script>
</body>
</html>

The radar

The Chicago radar (KLOT), 50 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:51 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 thunderstorm wind, 1 hail. Local standard time, as filed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Lake

When: October 24, 1:50 PM CST to 1:55 PM CST
Where: Lake County, Hammond
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Property damage: $25,000
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.583, -87.483

Thunderstorm Wind, Newton

When: October 24, 2:00 PM CST to 2:05 PM CST
Where: Newton County, Kentland
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.767, -87.433

Hail, Benton

When: October 24, 2:05 PM CST
Where: Benton County, Fowler
Measured: 1 in hail
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 40.617, -87.317

Thunderstorm Wind, Porter

When: October 24, 2:08 PM CST
Where: Porter County, Chesterton
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 41.600, -87.050

Thunderstorm Wind, Benton

When: October 24, 2:20 PM CST to 2:40 PM CST
Where: Benton County, Countywide
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph)
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 40.600, -87.283

What these are

Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Indiana in 2001 Every state in 2001 This day in weather history Warnings in Indiana, October 2001

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-30. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5270850, 5270851, 5270852, 5270854, 5270853.