Indiana, 2002

Hail and Damaging Wind in Indiana, September 18, 2002

September 18, 2002 · NWS IND · 5 events in 4 counties and zones

4 hail, 1 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

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

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The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
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 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 Indianapolis, IN wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 18, 2:35 PM EST, 40 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, Sep 18, 2:35 PM EST, 40 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
235 PM EST WED SEP 18 2002

FORECAST FOCUS THIS AFTERNOON IS ON CHANCES FOR RAIN THROUGH FRIDAY
NIGHT.

AT 19Z SCT TSRA WERE ACROSS THE FORECAST AREA (FA) WITH TEMPS IN THE
80S AND DEWPOINTS AROUND 70. WEAK SURFACE TROUGH WAS SOUTH OF I-74.

MODELS IN SOME DISAGREEMENT WITH COLD FRONT ON FRIDAY. AVN IS
FASTEST WHILE ETA CONTINUES TO SLOW DOWN. LOOKS LIKE UPPER FLOW WILL
BECOME CLOSER TO PARALLEL WITH THE COLD FRONT...WHICH WOULD SLOW
THINGS DOWN SOME. THUS TEND TO BELIEVE ETA IS THE WAY TO GO.

WITH LOSS OF HEATING AND THE FACT THAT A WEAK VORT MAX WILL HAVE
MOVED NE OF FA THIS EVENING...BELIEVE TSRA WILL DIMINISH THIS
EVENING. WILL GO SLGHT CHC POPS FOR THIS EVENING. DEWPOINTS WILL
REMAIN HIGH...SO GUIDANCE NUMBERS IN THE UPPER 60S LOOK REASONABLE
TONIGHT.

ON THU FA WILL REMAIN IN MOIST UNSTABLE AIRMASS. SCT TSRA WILL BE
POSSIBLE AGAIN...MAINLY IN THE AFTN. BELIEVE THERE WILL BE SOME
SUNSHINE...SO TEMPS SHOULD RISE INTO THE MID 80S...CLOSE TO FWC/MAV
VALUES.

AS FRONT SLOWLY APPROACHES THU NIGHT...WESTERN SECTIONS OF FA WILL
HAVE BEST CHANCE FOR RAIN. WITH CONTINUING UNCERTAINTY OF SPEED OF
THE FRONT...WILL KEEP POPS IN HIGH CHC CATEGORY.

FRONT WILL TRAVERSE STATE SLOWLY ON FRIDAY AND FRIDAY EVENING. OVER
35KT WINDS AT 850 WILL LEAD TO A BREEZY DAY...AND STRONG JET WILL
CREATE DIVERGENCE ALOFT. WILL GO LIKELY POPS ALL AREAS FRIDAY DURING
THE DAY. WILL GO CHC POPS IN EVENING...WITH HIGHEST POPS EAST.

.IND...NONE.
CS

The radar

The Indianapolis radar (KIND), 11 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 20:13 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

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

Hail, Hendricks

When
September 18, 3:15 PM EST
Where
Hendricks County, 1 mi S of Plainfield
Measured
0.75 in hail
Reported by
LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates
39.683, -86.400

Hail, Marion

When
September 18, 4:05 PM EST
Where
Marion County, Beech Grove
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates
39.717, -86.083

Hail, Shelby

When
September 18, 4:20 PM EST
Where
Shelby County, Pleasant View
Measured
1 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
39.667, -85.933

Thunderstorm Wind, Marion

When
September 18, 4:25 PM EST
Where
Marion County, Beech Grove
Measured
50 kt (58 mph)
Reported by
DEPT OF HIGHWAYS
Coordinates
39.717, -86.083

Trees Down

Hail, Hancock

When
September 18, 4:30 PM EST
Where
Hancock County, 1 mi W of New Palestine
Measured
0.88 in hail
Reported by
GENERAL PUBLIC
Coordinates
39.717, -85.900

What these are

Hail
Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
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.

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

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Indiana in 2002Every state in 2002This day in weather historyWarnings in Indiana, September 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: 5315462, 5315463, 5315465, 5315464, 5315466.