Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in Indiana, June 25, 2002

Name: Flash Flood and Damaging Wind in Indiana, June 25, 2002
Start: 2002-06-25T13:00
End: 2002-06-25T20:30
Location: Indiana

June 25, 2002 · NWS LOT · 3 events in 3 counties and zones

Thunderstorms moved across northwest Indiana during the afternoon and evening hours of June 25th. Two men who were working on a piece of drilling equipment in Crown Point, were struck by lightning.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. 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: 2
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 3

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.

Thunderstorms moved across northwest Indiana during the afternoon and evening hours of June 25th. Two men who were working on a piece of drilling equipment in Crown Point, were struck by lightning. Both were thrown to the ground but suffered only minor injuries. Three trees were blown down in Valparaiso in Porter county and damaged a few parked cars. Heavy rainfall over northwest Benton county caused basement flooding. A spotter in northwest Benton county reported two inches of rainfall in just 20 minutes.

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 Jun 25, 2:25 AM CST, 10 hours 35 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Jun 25, 2:25 AM CST, 10 hours 35 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
325 AM CDT TUE JUN 25 2002

TWO SEPARATE SYSTEMS TO INFLUENCE LOCAL WEATHER THROUGH THE END OF THE WEEK.
UPPER LOW OVER THE GULF COAST WILL TRANSPORT MOISTURE AS FAR AS THE SOUTHERN
EDGE OF THE CWA...WITH ANOTHER CHANCE OF POPCORN THUNDERSTORMS OVER THIS AREA
AS OCCURRED YESTERDAY.

FURTHER NORTH...SHORTWAVE CURRENTLY MOVING THROUGH NORTHERN PLAINS IS FORECAST
TO CARVE OUT AN UPPER TROF OVER THE GREAT LAKES REGION. A SURFACE FRONT
ASSOCIATED WITH THIS FEATURE WILL MOVE DOWN TOWARD OUR AREA...PROVIDING A FOCUS
FOR SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THROUGH WEDNESDAY EVENING. WAS ON THE
FENCE ABOUT INCLUDING POPS ACROSS THE NORTHERN EDGE OF THE CWA TODAY...BUT SPC
DAY1 FCST DREW THE SLGT RISK LINE THROUGH NORTHERN ILLINOIS...MORE OR LESS
FORCING THE ISSUE. TO AVOID A NARROW DRY FCST ZONE...WILL OPT FOR BLANKET CHC
POPS ACRS CWA.

FRONT FINALLY PUSHES THROUGH LATE WEDNESDAY...SETTING UP A VERY NICE DAY
THURSDAY BEFORE HGHTS/TEMPS REBOUND INTO THE WEEKEND. NO CHANGES TO EXTENDED.

.CHI...NONE

JHV

In the hours before

Local storm report, Jun 25, 11:46 AM CST, 1 hour 14 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
1246 PM CDT TUE JUN 25 2002

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

1138 AM    5 SE OSWEGO               IL   1.00 INCH HAIL
06/25/02   KENDALL                        REPORTED BY SPOTTER AT
                                          ROUTE 126 AND RIDGE RD

Special weather statement, Jun 25, 12:48 PM CST, 12 minutes before

ILZ003>006-008-010>014-019>023-032>033-039-INZ001>002-010>011-019-
261100-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE CHICAGO IL
1200 PM CDT/EST TUE JUN 25 2002

FOR NORTH CENTRAL AND NORTHEAST ILLINOIS AND NORTHWEST INDIANA...

THERE WILL BE SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS THIS AFTERNOON AND
AGAIN LATER TONIGHT.

THE THUNDERSTORMS MAY PRODUCE SMALL HAIL...STRONG GUSTS OF WIND
OR BRIEF PERIODS OF HEAVY RAIN.

WHW

The radar

The Chicago radar (KLOT), 61 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:16 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

1 lightning, 1 thunderstorm wind, 1 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Lightning, Lake

When: June 25, 1:00 PM CST
Where: Lake County, Crown Pt
Injuries: 2 direct, 0 indirect
Reported by: NEWSPAPER
Coordinates: 41.472, -87.376 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Thunderstorm Wind, Porter

When: June 25, 1:26 PM CST
Where: Porter County, Valparaiso
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 41.467, -87.050

Flash Flood, Benton

When: June 25, 6:30 PM EST to 8:30 PM EST
Where: Benton County, Northwest Portion
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 40.606, -87.311 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Lightning: A lightning strike that killed, injured or caused damage.
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.
Flash Flood: Flooding that begins within six hours of the rain that causes it, or of a dam or levee failure or ice jam release, often with deadly speed.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Indiana in 2002 Every state in 2002 This day in weather history Warnings in Indiana, June 2002

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 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 5298920, 5298918, 5298919.