Strong low- and mid-level winds associated with a storm system shifted slowly eastward across eastern Illinois, Indiana, and southern lower Michigan through the late afternoon and evening hours. This increased the potential for damaging thunderstorm winds.
Every event with a place to put it; 1 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.
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.
The episode as NWS IND wrote it up.
Strong low- and mid-level winds associated with a storm system shifted slowly eastward across eastern Illinois, Indiana, and southern lower Michigan through the late afternoon and evening hours. This increased the potential for damaging thunderstorm winds. A narrow squall line developed and moved through the region with a trailing area of rain.
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 Dec 27, 1:15 PM EST, 3 hours 54 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN 115 PM EST SAT DEC 27 2008 .DISCUSSION... MAIN CHALLENGE TO THE FCST WL BE IN THE SHORT TERM REGARDING GRADIENT WINDS...SEVERE POTENTIAL..QPF AND CVRG TNGT AS A STG CD FNT MOVES THROUGH. REGIONAL RADAR WAS SHOWING A LINE OF SVR TRWS ACRS WCNTRL IL INTO SWRN MO JUST AHEAD OF A APCHG STG CD FNT. MEANWHILE...STG SRLY LOW LVL RETURN FLOW AHEAD OF THE FNT HAS BUMPED TEMPS INTO THE 60S ACRS ALL OF CNTRL INDIANA EARLY THIS AFTERNOON. FINALLY...UA PATTERRN FEATURED A SHARP TROF ACRS THE HIGH PLAINS AND A HIGH AMPLITUDE RIDGE JUST OF THE ERN SHORE. GFS CONTINUED TO BE A LITTLE BIT FASTER THAN THE NAM PUSHING THE CD FNT THROUGH TNGT. WL SPLIT THE DIFFERENCE AS EACH HAS SUPPORT FM OTHER MODELS. AT ANY RATE...WL MOVE THE FNT THROUGH QUICKLY IN THE 02Z-08Z TIME FRAME TNGT. SO...THE FNT AND THE ASSOCIATE RW ACTIVITY SHOULD MOVE THROUGH QUICKLY ENOUGH THAT A FLOOD WATCH WL NOT BE NEEDED DESPITE THE FNT INTERACTING WITH LOW LVL 70 KT JET...RR QUAD OF 125KT 250 MB JET AND PRECIP H20 VALUES TO 1.5 INCHES. HOWEVER...WRN HALF OF THE FA IS IN A SLGT RISK THIS EVENING FOR SEVERE WEATHER AS THE WCNTRL IL SQUALL LINE WL MOVE THROUGH. VERY STG MAINLY UNI-DIRECTIONAL SHEAR (SRHS GREATER THAN 500) BUT WEAK INSTABILITY (ML CAPES BLW 300 J/KG) FAVORS POSSIBILITY OF A FEW WIND DAMAGE EVENTS...ALTHOUGH WITH MAGNITUDE OF SHEAR CAN NOT RULE OUT ISOLD TORNADOES. WE HAVE SEEN COLD SEASON SETUPS LIKE THIS BEFORE (SEPT 20, 2002 BEING ONE) WITH LOTS OF SHEAR AND LITTLE TO NO INSTABILITY AND YET RECEIVED TORNADOES. AWIPS DISTANCE SPEED TOOL SUGGESTS SQUALL LINE WL REACH WRN PARTS OF THE FA BY 00Z THIS EVE AND SPREAD QUICKLY NE UNDER THE SAIL OF 70+ KT DEEP LYR SW WINDS. 40KT WINDS JUST OFF THE SFC SHOULD BE ABLE TO MIX DOWN TNGT ESPECIALLY ALONG AND BEHIND THE FNT AS AREA OF SUBSIDENCE MOVES THROUGH JUST AHEAD OF THE STG UPR TROF THAT WL PASS THROUGH TOMORROW MRNG. TOOK OUT SNOW CHANCES ON THE TAIL END OF THE SYS TNGT AS MODEL SOUNDINGS AND MOS OVERNGT LOWS SUGGEST. SFC HIGH PRES WL BUILD IN FM THE W ON SUNDAY AND BE THE MAJOR INFLUENCE FOR THE START OF THE WEEK. THAT COMBINED WITH A DRY COLUMN WL ALLOW FOR LITTLE IN THE WAY OF CLOUD COVER. IT WL ALSO ALLOW FOR TEMPS SLIGHTLY ABV NORMAL WITH STG CAA TNGT BECOMING WEAK ON SUNDAY AND WEAK WAA BY SUNDAY NGT. UPR TROF TO PASS ACRS THE GT LKS ON TUE NGT AND WED...BUT WITH LOW MN LVL RH...EXPECT FA TO BE DRY OR AT BEST JUST A COUPLE OF LGT SNOW SHOWERS NE. NEXT CHC OF PRECIP LOOKS TO BE BY THU NGT AS A TROF DEEPENS ACRS THE MSP VLY. TIMING AND ESP THE PLACEMENT OF THE UPR SYS AND ASSOCIATED SFC SYS ARE QUITE DIFFERENT FOR THE GFS AND ECMWF...BUT AT ANY RATE SNOW CHANCES LOOK GOOD THU NGT AND FRI. WENT WITH COMPROMISE ON COOLER NAM AND NOT AS COOL GFS TNGT AS PARENT MODELS DIFFER A BIT WITH THE SPEED OF THE CD FNT AND EITHER SIDE HAS SUPPORT FM OTHER MODELS. TEMPS TNGT BASED ON CURRENT POST FRONTAL TEMPS. MEANWHILE...WITH PLNTY OF SS AND CAA WEAKENING TOMORROW AFTERNOON...PREFER WARMER NAM/GFS COMBO. && .AVIATION...DISCUSSION FOR 271800Z TAF ISSUANCE. CONVECTIVE SQ LN ASSOCIATED WITH CDFNT CURRENTLY EXTENDING FM FAR WRN IL SWWD INTO MO AND NW AR. MODEL DATA/XTRAPOLATION INDICATES SQ LN WL PROBABLY BE MOVG ACRS THE TAF SITES IN THE 280200Z-280600Z TIME FRAME. SOME ELEVATED INSTABILITY COUPLED WITH STG FORCING SHOULD KEEP THE THREAT FOR ORGANIZED CONVECTION RATHER HI DURG THAT TIME. SOME SCT SHWR ACTVTY OUT AHEAD OF SQ LN MAY BRIEFLY AFFECT THE TERMINALS AS WELL. UPSTREAM OBS SUGGESTS CIGS MAINLY IN THE 025-040 RANGE FOR THE BALANCE OF THE AFT/EVEN...WITH A PD OF IFR LIKELY IN THE HEAVIER PCPN ASSOCIATED WITH FROPA LTR TONIGHT. LIFT PRETTY MUCH PARALLELS FNT...SO PCPN SHOULD SHUT OFF RATHER QUICKLY AFT FROPA...SO THINKING CHCS OF ANY FREEZING/FROZEN PCPN SLIM. BASED ON MODEL DATA AND THIS MORNING/S UA...XPCTG SFC WND GUSTS ARND 30KT FM 170-190 HEADINGS THIS AFT/EVEN. WND FIELDS BECOME VRY STG AHEAD OF FNT THIS EVEN WITH MODEL DATA INDICATING ABOUT 75KT AT 850MB. APPEARS POTENTIAL FOR SOME SFC WND GUSTS 40-50KTS FOR A FEW HRS EITHER SIDE OF FROPA WHERE MIXING WL BE MAXIMIZED. && .IND WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...WIND ADVISORY ALL OF CENTRAL INDIANA FM 18Z SAT-12Z SUN /1PM SAT TO 7AM SUN/. && AVIATION...JAS PUBLIC...MK
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...UPDATED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN 320 PM EST SAT DEC 27 2008 INZ041-042-049-057-064-065-071-072-281100- DELAWARE-RANDOLPH-HENRY-RUSH-BARTHOLOMEW-DECATUR-JACKSON-JENNINGS- 320 PM EST SAT DEC 27 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL INDIANA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. WINDS WILL INCREASE INTO THE 20 TO 30 MPH RANGE THIS AFTERNOON AND PERSIST THROUGH THE NIGHT. WIND GUSTS OF 40 TO 45 MPH ARE POSSIBLE THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ESPECIALLY THIS EVENING AS A STRONG COLD FRONT APPROACHES. THE STORMS WILL PRODUCE GUSTY WINDS POSSIBLY TO 50 MPH. DEADLY CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING IS ALSO POSSIBLE. STORMS MAY ALSO PRODUCE HEAVY RAINFALL...WHICH MAY LEAD TO ADDITIONAL LOWLAND FLOODING. LOWLAND FLOODING WILL CONTINUE ALONG PORTIONS OF THE WHITE...EAST FORK WHITE...AND WABASH RIVERS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. LOWLAND FLOODING WILL CONTINUE ALONG PORTIONS OF THE EAST FORK WHITE... AND WABASH RIVERS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER REPORTS OF WIND GUSTS TODAY AND TONIGHT ARE APPRECIATED. && MORE INFORMATION...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER...HYDROLOGICAL AND CLIMATE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND...AT HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/IND (ALL LOWERCASE) INZ021-028>031-035>040-043>048-051>056-060>063-067>070-281100- CARROLL-WARREN-TIPPECANOE-CLINTON-HOWARD-FOUNTAIN-MONTGOMERY- BOONE-TIPTON-HAMILTON-MADISON-VERMILLION-PARKE-PUTNAM-HENDRICKS- MARION-HANCOCK-VIGO-CLAY-OWEN-MORGAN-JOHNSON-SHELBY-SULLIVAN- GREENE-MONROE-BROWN-KNOX-DAVIESS-MARTIN-LAWRENCE- 320 PM EST SAT DEC 27 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL INDIANA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE ESPECIALLY THIS EVENING AS A STRONG COLD FRONT APPROACHES. SOME OF THE STORMS COULD BE SEVERE WITH DAMAGING WINDS AND ISOLATED TORNADOES POSSIBLE. DEADLY CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING IS ALSO POSSIBLE. STORMS MAY ALSO PRODUCE HEAVY RAINFALL...WHICH MAY LEAD TO ADDITIONAL LOWLAND FLOODING. LOWLAND FLOODING WILL CONTINUE ALONG PORTIONS OF THE WHITE...EAST FORK WHITE...AND WABASH RIVERS. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SUNDAY THROUGH FRIDAY. LOWLAND FLOODING WILL CONTINUE ALONG PORTIONS OF THE EAST FORK WHITE... AND WABASH RIVERS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER REPORTS OF WIND GUSTS TODAY AND TONIGHT ARE APPRECIATED. && MORE INFORMATION...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER...HYDROLOGICAL AND CLIMATE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND...AT HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/IND (ALL LOWERCASE) KOCH
The Indianapolis radar (KIND), 104 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:07 UTC.
6 thunderstorm wind, 2 flood, 1 strong wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A spotter reported thunderstorm winds gusts of 55 to 65 MPH between Cayuga and Perrysville, Indiana.
Thunderstorm winds blew down 2 trees.
Large trees of approximately 300 years in age and 90 year old cedar trees were uprooted, a playground that was cemented into the ground was lifted and carried away, two large steel doors on a full-size barn were ripped off...with one door being deposited atop the barn and the other 8 acres away, and a riding lawn mower was tossed about 10 feet.
County road 1150 was reported to be flooded. Time of occurrence is roughly estimated.
Trees were blown down across 700 East north of State Road 28 and unspecified damage occurred on 900 East south of 800 South. Downed trees and roof damage occurred at unspecified location. Time of occurrence is roughly estimated as damage was reported after occurrence. Damage estimate is extremely rough.
Trees and a utility pole were blown down by thunderstorm winds around eastern Greene County. Time of occurrence is roughly estimated. Damage was reported some time after it occurred.
Limbs were blown down near Pottersville. Time of occurrence is roughly estimated. Damage was reported some time after it occurred.
Water was reported to be over State Road 236 close to Milligan, Indiana. Six to twelve inches of water was located east of Marshall at the bottom of Guion Hill on this road. End time of flood is roughly estimated.
Winds blew down 2 trees and damaged shingles on a garage.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Indiana in 2008Every state in 2008This day in weather historyWarnings in Indiana, December 2008
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: 148624, 148625, 148633, 148657, 148631, 148628, 148629, 148661, 148626.