Frequent rainfall caused lowland flooding to return to central Indiana. This delayed the growth of some fields, while some that were already planted sustained damage.
Every event with a place to put it. 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.
Frequent rainfall caused lowland flooding to return to central Indiana. This delayed the growth of some fields, while some that were already planted sustained damage.
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 13, 5:20 AM EST, 2 hours 32 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN 620 AM EDT TUE MAY 13 2008 .AVIATION...DISCUSSION FOR THE 12Z TAFS VFR CONDS WILL PREVAIL UNTIL AT LEAST 04Z. SFC/UPPER RIDGE WILL GRADUALLY SHIFT EAST OF THE AREA ALLOWING MOISTURE RETURN AND INCREASING CLDS THIS AFTERNOON INTO TONIGHT. PRECIP IN THE FORM OF CONVECTIVE SHOWERS AND T-STORMS WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA AFTER 06Z TONIGHT. CIGS WILL REMAIN VFR SINCE THE MOISTURE RETURN WILL BE MODEST THROUGH 06Z. HOWEVER IT APPEARS THAT THE COVERAGE OF PRECIP MAY BE GREAT ENOUGH SO THAT PREVAILING CONDS FALL TO MVFR CIGS AND/OR VIS WITHIN PRECIP FOR A TIME TOWARD 12Z WEDS. FOR NOW WILL FCST MVFR CIGS IN THE 8Z TO 12Z TIME FRAME WITH SHOWERS AND THUNDER IMPLIED. && .PREV DISCUSSION... FORECAST FOCUS IS ON CHANCES FOR RAIN FOR THE REST OF THE WEEK. AT 06Z HIGH PRESSURE WAS ACROSS THE ERN GREAT LAKES AND WAS PROVIDING CLEAR AND COOL CONDITIONS TO THE FORECAST AREA /FA/. A COLD FRONT EXTENDED SW FROM A LOW PRESSURE IN FAR WRN MN INTO KS. MODELS WERE IN CLOSE ENOUGH AGREEMENT WITH MAJOR FEATURES IMPACTING THE FA TO USE A BLEND. HOWEVER GFS APPEARS TO SUFFER FROM SOME CONVECTIVE FEEDBACK ISSUES SO WILL IGNORE ITS QPF BULLSEYES DURING THOSE TIMES. THE FA WILL SEE PLENTY OF SUNSHINE TODAY WITH ONLY A GRADUAL INCREASE IN MID AND HIGH CLOUDS FROM W TO E. WHILE STRONGER WARM ADVECTION OCCURS ALOFT...SFC WINDS WILL REMAIN FROM THE SE PROVIDING LESS WARM ADVECTION THERE. GIVEN THE SE WINDS AND A COOL START TO THE DAY...FEEL THAT MAV NUMBERS ARE A BIT WARM. WILL CUT MAV BY A COUPLE OF DEGREES MOST AREAS. MOISTURE WILL BE SLOW TO RETURN TONIGHT AND BEST FORCING AHEAD OF APPROACHING UPPER TROF AND COLD FRONT WILL NOT ARRIVE UNTIL AFTER MIDNIGHT. WILL KEEP ERN FA DRY AND ONLY CHANCE POPS ACROSS WRN FA BEFORE MIDNIGHT. LOOKS LIKE MOISTURE AND FORCING /ISENTROPIC LIFT/ WILL COME TOGETHER AFT MIDNIGHT SO THAT ODDS ARE PRECIP OCCURS MOST AREAS. WILL GO CLOSE TO MAV POPS WITH CATEGORICAL POPS W AND LIKELY POPS E. WITH THICKENING CLOUDS FM W TO E DURING THE NIGHT ERN SECTIONS OF THE FA SHOULD SEE THE COOLEST MIN TEMPS. A BLEND OF GUIDANCE REFLECTS THIS WELL. MAIN AREA OF RAIN SHOULD BE ACROSS ERN FA WED MORNING SO HIGHEST POPS LOOK BEST THERE. ACTUAL SFC FRONT WILL NOT MOVE THROUGH UNTIL AFTERNOON ACROSS MOST OF THE FA...SO THERE IS A CHANCE SOME SCT STORMS WILL FORM ALONG IT. WILL GO HIGHER POPS IN THE MORNING WITH THE INITIAL ROUND OF RAIN AND THEN CHANCE POPS DURING THE AFTN TO ACCOUNT FOR SCT STORMS ALONG THE FRONT. FRONT SLIDES TO THE S OF THE FA WED NIGHT...BUT AN UPPER LOW EJECTING FROM THE SWRN US WILL CREATE A SFC WAVE ALONG THE FRONT. THIS WILL BRING CHANCES FOR RAIN BACK TO ALL OF THE FA BY THU AFTN. FA REMAINS IN NW FLOW ALOFT THRU SAT...AND THIS WILL ALLOW WAVES TO PRODUCE CHANCES FOR RAIN FRI AND SAT. TEMPS WILL REMAIN BELOW NORMAL. && .IND WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && AVIATION...CO PUBLIC...CS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN 431 AM EDT TUE MAY 13 2008 INZ021-028>031-035>042-045>049-052>057-062>065-069>072-141000- CARROLL-WARREN-TIPPECANOE-CLINTON-HOWARD-FOUNTAIN-MONTGOMERY- BOONE-TIPTON-HAMILTON-MADISON-DELAWARE-RANDOLPH-PUTNAM-HENDRICKS- MARION-HANCOCK-HENRY-CLAY-OWEN-MORGAN-JOHNSON-SHELBY-RUSH-MONROE- BROWN-BARTHOLOMEW-DECATUR-MARTIN-LAWRENCE-JACKSON-JENNINGS- 431 AM EDT TUE MAY 13 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL INDIANA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE TONIGHT. NO SEVERE STORMS ARE EXPECTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE ON WEDNESDAY. SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. && MORE INFORMATION...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER...HYDROLOGICAL AND CLIMATE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND...AT HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/IND (ALL LOWERCASE) INZ043-044-051-060-061-067-068-141000- VERMILLION-PARKE-VIGO-SULLIVAN-GREENE-KNOX-DAVIESS- 431 AM EDT TUE MAY 13 2008 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR PORTIONS OF WEST AND SOUTHWEST CENTRAL INDIANA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. LOWLAND FLOODING WILL OCCUR ALONG PORTIONS OF THE LOWER WHITE RIVER AND LOWER WABASH RIVERS. PLEASE SEE THE LATEST FLOOD STATEMENTS FOR DETAILS. SCATTERED THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE TONIGHT. NO SEVERE STORMS ARE EXPECTED. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE POSSIBLE WEDNESDAY. SEVERE WEATHER IS NOT EXPECTED. LOWLAND FLOODING WILL PERSIST ALONG PORTIONS OF THE WABASH AND WHITE RIVERS. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS NOT ANTICIPATED. && MORE INFORMATION...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER...HYDROLOGICAL AND CLIMATE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND...AT HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/IND (ALL LOWERCASE)
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
11 flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Flooding occurred along the Wabash River in Parke County, including near Montezuma, due to heavy rain.
Flooding occurred along the Wabash River in Vermillion County, including near Montezuma, due to heavy rain.
Flooding occurred along the Wabash River in western Sullivan County due to heavy rain.
Flooding occurred along the Wabash River in Sullivan County, including near Riverton, due to heavy rain.
Flooding occurred along the Wabash River in Vigo County, including near Terre Haute, due to heavy rain.
Flooding occurred along the White River in Owen County, including near Spencer, due to heavy rain.
Flooding occurred along the Wabash River in southwestern Knox County due to heavy rain.
Flooding occurred along the Wabash River in Tippecanoe County, including near Lafayette, due to heavy rain.
Flooding occurred along the East Fork White River in Jackson County, including near Rockford and Seymour, due to heavy rain.
Flooding occurred along the Wabash River in eastern Warren County due to heavy rain.
Flooding occurred along the Wabash River in Fountain County, including near Covington, due to heavy rain.
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, May 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: 100154, 100156, 100152, 98748, 98761, 98746, 100153, 100151, 98747, 98478, 98479.