Flooding in Indiana, May 10 to 14, 2003

Name: Flooding in Indiana, May 10 to 14, 2003
Start: 2003-05-10T01:15
End: 2003-05-14T22:24
Location: Indiana

May 10 to 14, 2003 · NWS IND · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

2 to 4 inches of rain fell on the 9th causing lowland flooding along the East Fork of the White River.

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: 0
Property damage: None recorded
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 2

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 IND wrote it up.

2 to 4 inches of rain fell on the 9th causing lowland flooding along the East Fork of the White River. The following are flood stages, crests and dates of crests:Site: FS: Crest: Date of Crest:Seymour 12.0 14.67 05/13/03Bedford 20.0 22.0 05/10/03Williams 8.0 8.4 05/11/03

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 May 9, 3:00 PM EST, 10 hours 15 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 9, 3:00 PM EST, 10 hours 15 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION...CORRECTED
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
227 PM EST FRI MAY 9 2003

CORRECTED ISSUANCE TIME

RADAR SHOWS STG TSRA DVLPG JUST S OF THE CNTRL INDIANA FCST AREA AND
MOVG E. SATL SHOWS OUTFLOW BDRY FM MORNING TSRA NR A KGUS-KMIE LINE.
MAIN FCST ISSUES ARE CHCS OF TSRA TNGT THRU SAT NGT AND HVY RAFL
POTNL LATE TNGT AND ERY SAT.

IN GENL...12Z ETA/GFS ARE IN GUD AGREEMENT WITH THE NGM SLGTLY
SLOWER WITH THE CDFNT TO MOV ACRS THE FA LT SAT NGT. GFS SUFFERS FM
CNVCTV FEEDBACK TNGT...SO WL PREFER THE ETA FOR THIS FCST. BLV SCT
TSRA A GUD BET THIS EVE ACRS THE FA...THEN A MCS WL MOV ACRS THE FA
LT TNGT. TSRA DVLPG OVR OK ADD TO BELIEF THAT MCS WL FORM AND MOV
ACRS THE FA AFT MIDN AND CONT INTO SAT MORNING. WL FCST CHC POPS
THIS EVE FOLLOWED BY LKLY POPS LT TNGT AND SAT MORNING. POTNL FOR
HVY RAFL AND NRBY WFOS HAVE DECIDED TO ISSUE A FLOOD WATCH...SO WL
ALSO ISSUE FLOOD WATCH FROM IND FOR ENTIRE FA. CONFIDENCE LOW IN
EXACT AREA OF HVY RAFL AND AMTS...BUT GIVEN RECENT RAINS AND POTNL
FOR MORE HVY RAIN...BLV IT BEST TO GO AHD WITH FLOOD WATCH FM LT
THIS EVE THRU SAT MORN.

TSRA SHUD DMNSH SAT MORNING...BUT EXPECT NEW DVLPMT SAT AFTN CONTG
INTO SAT NGT. THIS WL LKLY BE IN A LINE/AREA AHD OF THE CDFNT...AND
CAN CERTAINLY AGREE WITH SPC MDT RISK. WL FCST LKLY POPS SAT...WITH
BEST CHC ERY AND LATE WITH A MIDDAY LULL EXPECTED. CDFNT WL PASS
ACRS FA LT SAT NGT...SO WL CONT LKLY POPS UNTIL FROPA.

FOR TEMPS...WL USE A BLEND OF THE COOLER AVN MOS AND THE WRMR ETA
MOS.

.IND...FLOOD WATCH LATE THIS EVE THRU SAT MORNING ENTIRE FCST AREA...
       INZ021-028>031-035>049-051>057-060>065-067>072.

ZIMMERMAN

Hazardous weather outlook, May 9, 6:03 AM EST, 19 hours 12 minutes before

INZ021-028>031-035>049-051>057-060>065-067>072-101100-

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
603 AM EST FRI MAY 9 2003

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL INDIANA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT

THERE IS A CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS TODAY AND THUNDERSTORMS ARE
LIKELY TONIGHT. SOME OF THESE STORMS COULD BE SEVERE WITH DAMAGING
WINDS AND HAIL THE MAIN THREAT BUT ISOLATED TORNADOES ALSO POSSIBLE.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THOUGH THURSDAY.

THUNDERSTORMS ARE AGAIN LIKELY SATURDAY AND SATURDAY NIGHT. SEVERE
STORMS ARE POSSIBLE WITH DAMAGING WINDS THE MAIN THREAT BUT LARGE
HAIL AND A FEW TORNADOES ALSO POSSIBLE.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

SPOTTERS MAY BE NEEDED AT TIMES TODAY THROUGH SATURDAY NIGHT.

&&

MORE INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED AT THE FOLLOWING URL...

HTTP://WWW.CRH.NOAA.GOV/IND (ALL LOWER CASE)

KOCH

In the hours before

Special weather statement, May 9, 8:42 PM EST, 4 hours 33 minutes before

ILZ041>046-048-052>057-061>063-066-067-071-INZ005>009-013>049-051-
052-100400-

SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
842 PM EST FRI MAY 9 2003

TORNADO WATCH #324 HAS BEEN REMOVED FOR THOSE AREAS EAST OF A TERRE
HAUTE TO TIPTON LINE.

TORNADO WATCH #324 REMAINS IN EFFECT FOR...CARROLL...HOWARD...
TIPPECANOE...WARREN...CLINTON...TIPTON...FOUNTAIN...MONTGOMERY...VERM
ILLION...PARKE AND VIGO COUNTIES...UNTIL 1100 PM EST.

RADAR SHOWS STRONG THUNDERSTORMS WERE DEVELOPING ACROSS NORTHERN
INDIANA INTO CENTRAL ILLINOIS.  IT DOES NOT APPEAR LIKELY THAT ANY
OF THOSE THUNDERSTORMS WILL MOVE EAST OF A TERRE HAUTE TO TIPTON
LINE BEFORE THE TORNADO WATCH EXPIRES AT 1100 PM EST.

PERSONS IN THE LAFFAYETTE KOKOMO AND CRAWFORDSVILLE AREA SHOULD
CONTINUE TO BE ALERT FOR A POSSIBLE SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS OR TORNADO
THIS EVENING.

JEH

Local storm report, May 9, 11:17 PM EST, 1 hour 58 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
1117 PM EST FRI MAY 09 2003

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

1108 PM    7 N SPENCER               IN   1.00 IN HAIL
05/09/03   OWEN

JAS

Local storm report, May 10, 12:02 AM EST, 1 hour 13 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
1202 AM EST SAT MAY 10 2003

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

1159 PM    WASHINGTON                IL   1.75 IN HAIL
05/09/03   TAZEWELL                       REPORTED BY SPOTTER

JAS

Local storm report, May 10, 1:13 AM EST, 2 minutes before

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
0113 AM EST SAT MAY 10 2003

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

0103 AM    5 W BEDFORD               IN   0.75 IN HAIL
05/10/03   LAWRENCE

JAS

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 flood. Local standard time, as filed.

Flood, Lawrence

When: May 10, 1:15 AM EST to May 12, 5:50 PM EST
Where: Lawrence forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.841, -86.483 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Flood, Jackson

When: May 11, 7:39 AM EST to May 14, 10:24 PM EST
Where: Jackson forecast zone
Reported by: OFFICIAL NWS OBS.
Coordinates: 38.906, -86.037 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

What these are

Flood: Flooding that develops more slowly than a flash flood: rivers leaving their banks, or water standing over land for an extended time.

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

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Indiana in 2003 Every state in 2003 This day in weather history Warnings in Indiana, May 2003

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: 5353955, 5353954.