Severe drought conditions began across portions of central Indiana as a result of prolonged hot and dry weather from the middle of July into August. The first third of August started out similar to the vast majority of the previous month, which was characterized by above normal temperatures due to a persistent upper level ridge of high pressure.
Every event with a place to put it; 8 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.
Severe drought conditions began across portions of central Indiana as a result of prolonged hot and dry weather from the middle of July into August. The first third of August started out similar to the vast majority of the previous month, which was characterized by above normal temperatures due to a persistent upper level ridge of high pressure. This allowed much of central Indiana to have highs in the upper 80s to mid 90s and lows near 70.
The dry rainfall pattern from July continued in many areas through August. Monthly rainfall ranged from a quarter of an inch in portions Sullivan, Knox, and Daviess Counties in southwest Indiana to near 7 inches in Warren, Tippecanoe, Cass and Wabash Counties in north central Indiana.
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 Aug 30, 5:40 AM EST, 1 hour 20 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN 640 AM EDT TUE AUG 30 2011 .UPDATE... THE AVIATION SECTION HAS BEEN UPDATED BELOW. && .SYNOPSIS... HIGH PRESSURE WILL KEEP DRY AND SEASONABLE WEATHER ACROSS CENTRAL INDIANA THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON...WHILE A WEAK UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVES ACROSS THE REGION TONIGHT. HOT AND HUMID CONDITIONS WILL MOVE INTO THE AREA FOR THE END OF WEEK...BEFORE A COLD FRONT BRINGS A CHANCE OF STORMS AND COOLER AIR BY EARLY NEXT WEEK. && .NEAR TERM /TODAY/... HIGH PRESSURE WILL DRIFT SLOWLY EASTWARD THIS PERIOD. CLOUDS WILL CONTINUE TO FILTER OVER REGION...INCREASING IN COVERAGE THROUGH THIS AFTERNOON...AHEAD OF AN UPPER WAVE FROM THE NRN PLAINS. EVEN THOUGH WE WILL HAVE CLOUDS BUILDING IN THROUGHOUT THE DAY THINK MOS IS A LITTLE ON THE LOW SIDE (AS IT HAS BEEN FOR LAST SEVERAL DAYS) SO NUDGED HIGH TEMPS UPWARD A NOTCH. LOW 80S (NORTH) TO UPPER 80S (SOUTH). && .SHORT TERM /TONIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY/... FOCUS CONTINUES TO BE RAIN CHANCES TONIGHT AND WED...ALONG WITH INCREASING TEMPS LATE IN THE PERIOD. MODELS ARE IN GOOD AGREEMENT SO USED A BLEND. ISENTROPIC LIFT MOVES ACROSS THE AREA TONIGHT INTO WED AS A WEAK UPPER WAVE MOVES ACROSS THE REGION. VERY DRY AIR IN THE LOW LEVELS AND LIMITED MOISTURE INHIBITS OUR RAIN CHANCES BOTH TONIGHT AN TOMORROW. DID NOT RAISE POPS ABOVE THEIR CURRENT 20-30%. AGAIN....INSTABILITY IS LACKING DURING THIS PERIOD BUT WILL CONTINUE ISOLATED THUNDER FOR DURING THE DAY WED TO ACCOUNT FOR SOME DIURNALLY DRIVEN CONVECTION. CONTINUED TO GO WITH WARMER MOS TEMPS CONSIDERING THE LACK OF RAIN EXPECTED. UPPER RIDGING WILL BEGIN TO BUILD INTO THE AREA WED NIGHT INTO THU USHERING MUCH WARMER AIR INTO THE REGION. ONCE AGAIN WENT ABOVE GUIDANCE FOR TEMPS CONSIDERING PERSISTENCE AND DRY GROUND. WITH HEAT AND HUMIDITY CANNOT RULE OUT AN ISOLATED STORM THURSDAY AFTERNOON. && .LONG TERM /THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY/... FOCUS IS ON CHANCES FOR RAIN. WENT WITH THE WARMER HPC/00Z ECMWF TEMPERATURES GIVEN UPPER RIDGE ACROSS THE AREA IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE AREA. STILL CANNOT RULE OUT AN ISOLATED STORM FOR FRIDAY AFTERNOON ALTHOUGH MID LEVEL TEMPERATURES WILL BE MARGINAL FOR STORM DEVELOPMENT. BETTER CHANCES FOR STORMS ARRIVE SATURDAY INTO SUNDAY AS A POTENT COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH THE AREA. AT THE MOMENT IT LOOKS LIKE SATURDAY NIGHT WILL HAVE THE BEST CHANCE FOR RAIN. SYSTEM SHOULD BE OUT OF THE AREA BY MONDAY AS MUCH COOLER AIR MOVES INTO THE REGION. HIGHS WILL COOL FROM THE 90S ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY TO THE 70S BY MONDAY. && .AVIATION /DISCUSSION FOR THE 30/12Z TAFS/... VFR THROUGH THE PERIOD. VARIOUS GUIDANCE SOURCES AND SATELLITE/SURFACE OBS INDICATE INCREASING MID AND HIGH LEVEL CLOUDINESS THROUGH THE PERIOD AS A WEAK UPPER WAVE TRAVERSES THE REGION. COULD SEE AN ISOLATED SHOWER IN THE AREA TONIGHT...MAINLY AFTER 06Z...BUT SIGNIFICANT DRY AIR IN THE LOW LEVELS WILL BE AN IMPEDIMENT TO THIS...AND COVERAGE/INTENSITY OF SHOWERS APPEARS TOO LOW AT THIS TIME TO INCLUDE ANY MENTION. WINDS WILL BE GENERALLY OUT OF THE EAST/SOUTHEAST BELOW 10KT THROUGH THE PERIOD. && .IND WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...50/SMF NEAR TERM...SMF SHORT TERM...SMF LONG TERM....50 AVIATION...NIELD
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK...CORRECTED NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN 248 AM EDT TUE AUG 30 2011 INZ021-028>031-035>049-051>057-060>065-067>072-310700- CARROLL-WARREN-TIPPECANOE-CLINTON-HOWARD-FOUNTAIN-MONTGOMERY- BOONE-TIPTON-HAMILTON-MADISON-DELAWARE-RANDOLPH-VERMILLION-PARKE- PUTNAM-HENDRICKS-MARION-HANCOCK-HENRY-VIGO-CLAY-OWEN-MORGAN- JOHNSON-SHELBY-RUSH-SULLIVAN-GREENE-MONROE-BROWN-BARTHOLOMEW- DECATUR-KNOX-DAVIESS-MARTIN-LAWRENCE-JACKSON-JENNINGS- 248 AM EDT TUE AUG 30 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL INDIANA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. NO HAZARDOUS WEATHER IS EXPECTED AT THIS TIME. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...WEDNESDAY THROUGH MONDAY. THERE IS A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS ON WEDNESDAY THROUGH THIS WEEKEND. AT THIS TIME...THESE STORMS DO NOT LOOK SEVERE...HOWEVER LIGHTNING IS A THREAT WITH ANY THUNDERSTORM. .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) SMF
The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.
8 drought. Local standard time, as filed.
On August 30th, the U.S. Drought Monitor placed most of Morgan County under a Severe (D2) Drought designation. This continued into September 2011. No reports of impacts were received.
On August 30th, the U.S. Drought Monitor placed the southern quarter of Hendricks County under a Severe (D2) Drought designation. This continued into September 2011. No reports of impacts were received.
On August 30th, the U.S. Drought Monitor placed the southeast portion of Putnam County under a Severe (D2) Drought designation. This continued into September 2011. No reports of impacts were received.
On August 30th, the U.S. Drought Monitor placed the northeast quarter of Owen County under a Severe (D2) Drought designation. This continued into September 2011. No reports of impacts were received.
On August 30th, the U.S. Drought Monitor placed the far northern portion of Monroe County under a Severe (D2) Drought designation. This continued into September 2011. No reports of impacts were received.
On August 30th, the U.S. Drought Monitor placed the northern third of Brown County under a Severe (D2) Drought designation. This continued into September 2011. No reports of impacts were received.
On August 30th, the U.S. Drought Monitor placed the far northwest corner of Bartholomew County under a Severe (D2) Drought designation. This continued into September 2011. No reports of impacts were received.
On August 30th, the U.S. Drought Monitor placed the southwest two thirds of Johnson County under a Severe (D2) Drought designation. This continued into September 2011. No reports of impacts were received.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Indiana in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyWarnings in Indiana, August 2011
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: 345831, 345832, 345834, 345835, 345836, 345837, 345838, 345839.