Flash Flooding and Hail in Indiana, May 25, 2004

Name: Flash Flooding and Hail in Indiana, May 25, 2004
Start: 2004-05-25T17:21
End: 2004-05-25T22:00
Location: Indiana

May 25, 2004 · NWS LMK · 9 events in 5 counties and zones

4 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 2 flash flood, 1 heavy rain, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 3 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: 9

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 Louisville, KY wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 25, 2:40 PM EST, 2 hours 41 minutes earlier.

Area forecast discussion, May 25, 2:40 PM EST, 2 hours 41 minutes before

AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
340 PM EDT TUE MAY 25 2004

.SHORT RANGE (TONIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY)...

HIGH CLOUDS HAVE MOVED OVER THE FA AHEAD OF AN AREA OF SHOWERS TO
OUR WEST. THIS HAS HELD TEMPERATURES DOWN...ESPECIALLY OVER THE
WESTERN HALF OF FA. SATELLITE SHOWED CU DEVELOPING IN THE EAST BUT
RADAR INDICATED ONLY LIMITED SHOWERS ACROSS THE AREA AT MID
AFTERNOON. AS HEATING CONTINUES, EXPECT SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS TO
DEVELOP DURING THE LATE AFTERNOON.

SERIES OF WEAK WAVES MOVING ACROSS THE AREA NOTED IN MODELS AT 700
MB AND 500 MB. SOME OF THIS IN GFS MAY BE DUE TO CONVECTIVE
FEEDBACK. HOWEVER WITH MOIST UNSTABLE AIR IN PLACE ACROSS THE REGION
WEAK IMPULSES WILL TRIGGER THUNDERSTORMS.

AS FRONT SLIDES SLOWLY TO THE SOUTH TO NEAR OHIO RIVER DURING THE
NEXT TWO DAYS, SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE.
BOTH ETA AND GFS INDICATE INCREASING HUMIDITY ON WEDNESDAY AND
THURSDAY AND HAVE RAISED POPS INTO HIGH CHANCE AND LIKELY
CATEGORIES. CHANCE OF SHOWERS WILL CONTINUE AGAIN FRIDAY.

TEMPERATURES WILL BE A LITTLE COOLER WITH HIGHS MOSTLY IN THE 80 TO
85 DEGREE RANGE WITH GREATER CLOUD COVER. HAVE STAYED GENERALLY
CLOSE TO A BLEND OF THE ETA AND GFS MOS GUIDANCE.

EXTENDED (FRIDAY NIGHT THROUGH TUESDAY)...

LOWER OHIO VALLEY WILL REMAIN WARM AND UNSTABLE FOR THE WEEKEND WITH
SCATTERED SHOWERS AND THUNDERSTORMS. COLD FRONT APPROACHES ON
MONDAY. SLIGHTLY COOLER TEMPS ON TAP FOR TUESDAY OTHERWISE. NOT MANY
CHANGES MADE TO EXTENDED FORECAST.

&&

.LMK WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...
IN...NONE.
KY...NONE.

&&

SCHOLZ/PYE

Hazardous weather outlook, May 25, 3:45 PM EST, 1 hour 36 minutes before

HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
445 PM EDT TUE MAY 25 2004

INZ076>079-083-084-089>092-KYZ023>043-045>049-053>057-061>067-
070>078-081-082-260800-
ADAIR KY-ALLEN KY-ANDERSON KY-BARREN KY-BOURBON KY-BOYLE KY-
BRECKINRIDGE KY-BULLITT KY-BUTLER KY-CASEY KY-CLARK KY-CLARK IN-
CLINTON KY-CRAWFORD IN-CUMBERLAND KY-DUBOIS IN-EDMONSON KY-
FAYETTE KY-FLOYD IN-FRANKLIN KY-GARRARD KY-GRAYSON KY-GREEN KY-
HANCOCK KY-HARDIN KY-HARRISON KY-HARRISON IN-HART KY-HENRY KY-
JEFFERSON KY-JEFFERSON IN-JESSAMINE KY-LARUE KY-LINCOLN KY-LOGAN KY-
MADISON KY-MARION KY-MEADE KY-MERCER KY-METCALF KY-MONROE KY-
NELSON KY-NICHOLAS KY-OHIO KY-OLDHAM KY-ORANGE IN-PERRY IN-
RUSSELL KY-SCOTT KY-SCOTT IN-SHELBY KY-SIMPSON KY-SPENCER KY-
TAYLOR KY-TRIMBLE KY-WARREN KY-WASHINGTON KY-WASHINGTON IN-
WOODFORD KY-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...LOUISVILLE...LEXINGTON...BOWLING GREEN...
WINCHESTER...VERSAILLES...STANFORD...SHELBYVILLE...RUSSELLVILLE...
RICHMOND...HARRODSBURG...HARDINSBURG...GLASGOW...FRANKLIN...
FRANKFORT...ELIZABETHTOWN...DANVILLE...CYNTHIANA...COLUMBIA...
BARDSTOWN...NEW ALBANY...JASPER AND CORYDON
445 PM EDT (345 PM CDT) TUE MAY 25 2004

THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL KENTUCKY AND SOUTH
CENTRAL INDIANA.

.DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT.

VERY WARM MOIST AND UNSTABLE AIR SOUTH OF A FRONTAL ZONE SETTLING
SOUTH TOWARD THE OHIO RIVER WILL BE THE BREEDING GROUND FOR SEVERE
THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS SOUTH CENTRAL INDIANA AND CENTRAL KENTUCKY THIS
EVENING. THE NORTHERN TWO THIRDS OF KENTUCKY HAS BEEN UDGRADED TO A
MODERATE RISK OF SEVERE STORMS BY THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER...THE
PRIMARY RISKS BEING LARGE HAIL AND DAMAGING THUNDERSTORM WINDS. THE
STRONGEST STORMS WILL MOVE EAST OF CENTRAL KENTUCKY BY AROUND
MIDNIGHT.

.DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY.

AN UNSETTLED PATTERN WILL REMAIN OVER THE AREA INTO THE UPCOMING
WEEKEND, RESULTING IN CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS. PERIODS OF HEAVY
RAIN ARE POSSIBLE, PARTICULARLY ON WEDNESDAY, WHEN A STALLED
FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL BE IN THE VICINITY.

.SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT...

TRAINED SPOTTERS AND LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIALS ARE ENCOURAGED TO
RELAY REPORTS OF SEVERE WEATHER OR FLOODING TO THE NATIONAL WEATHER
SERVICE IN LOUISVILLE. EXAMPLES ARE DOWNED TREES OR STRUCTURAL DAMAGE
DUE TO HIGH WINDS, HAIL LARGER THAN DIME SIZE, AND FLOODING THAT IS
BLOCKING ROADWAYS.

REITMEYER

The radar

The Louisville radar (KLVX), 51 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:21 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

4 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail, 2 flash flood, 1 heavy rain. Local standard time, as filed.

Hail, Harrison

When: May 25, 5:21 PM EST
Where: Harrison County, Palmyra
Measured: 1.75 in hail
Reported by: EMERGENCY MANAGER
Coordinates: 38.417, -86.117

Hail, Clark

When: May 25, 5:35 PM EST
Where: Clark County, Memphis
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.483, -85.767

Thunderstorm Wind, Jefferson

When: May 25, 6:25 PM EST
Where: Jefferson County, Madison
Measured: 50 kt (58 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 38.733, -85.383

Trees were downed.

Thunderstorm Wind, Perry

When: May 25, 6:40 PM EST
Where: Perry County, Bristow
Measured: 52 kt (60 mph) measured gust
Reported by: TRAINED SPOTTER
Coordinates: 38.133, -86.717

Thunderstorm Wind, Crawford

When: May 25, 7:20 PM EST
Where: Crawford County, Pilot Knob
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 38.283, -86.350

Trees were downed.

Heavy Rain, Harrison

When: May 25, 7:23 PM EST
Where: Harrison County, Valley City
Reported by: AMATEUR RADIO
Coordinates: 38.195, -86.111 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Rain was falling at a rate of 4.29 inches per hour. The total rainfall measured was 2.58 inches.

Thunderstorm Wind, Perry

When: May 25, 7:30 PM EST
Where: Perry County, Tell City
Measured: 55 kt (63 mph) estimated gust
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 37.950, -86.767

Numerous large tree limbs were downed. Some were blown on to power lines, however no power outages were reported.

Flash Flood, Crawford

When: May 25, 8:00 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where: Crawford County, English
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 38.292, -86.452 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Speras Street was closed due to high water.

Flash Flood, Harrison

When: May 25, 8:15 PM EST to 10:00 PM EST
Where: Harrison County, Corydon
Reported by: LAW ENFORCEMENT
Coordinates: 38.195, -86.111 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

Corydon-Ramsey Road was closed due to high water.

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.
Heavy Rain: Rainfall totals unusual for the place and season that did not produce a flood.
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 2004 Every state in 2004 This day in weather history Warnings in Indiana, May 2004

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: 5396378, 5396374, 5396375, 5396376, 5396377, 5396379, 5396380, 5396381, 5396382.