A potent storm system moved across central Indiana late on February 27 and early on February 28. Warm and moist air moved into the area with the system, and this allowed thunderstorms to develop.
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.
A potent storm system moved across central Indiana late on February 27 and early on February 28. Warm and moist air moved into the area with the system, and this allowed thunderstorms to develop. Some of the storms produced hail, damaging winds, heavy rain, and one storm produced a tornado near the town of Ingalls.
In addition to the tornado damage, downburst straight-line wind damage was also observed just south of the tornado touchdown near Woods Drive at State Road 67. Additional downburst straight-line wind damage in the form of downed trees, limbs and power lines occurred further southwest on State Road 67 in Fortville at Motel Road, Industrial Drive and just north and west of the downtown area.
Northern sections of central Indiana saw 1 to 3 inches of rain, with isolated 4 to 5 inch amounts. This rain, combined with water from a melted snow cover, led to flooding of numerous streams, creeks, and rivers. Flooding also occurred in low lying areas. Some creeks and rivers experienced record flooding.
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 Feb 27, 8:01 PM EST, 2 hours 7 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN 801 PM EST SUN FEB 27 2011 .UPDATE... THE NEAR TERM SECTION HAS BEEN UPDATED BELOW. && .SYNOPSIS... A POTENT LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM WILL MOVE ACROSS CENTRAL INDIANA TONIGHT AND TOMORROW MORNING BRINGING STRONG TO SEVERE THUNDERSTORMS. THE MAIN THREATS WILL BE DAMAGING WINDS AND HEAVY RAINFALL...WHICH COULD LEAD TO FLASH FLOODING. IN ADDITION...LARGE HAIL AND ISOLATED TORNADOES CANNOT BE RULED OUT...EITHER. RAIN WILL TAPER OFF BY EARLY AFTERNOON TOMORROW...AND HIGH PRESSURE WILL FOLLOW IN ITS WAKE THROUGH MID WEEK. FURTHER OUT...A WEAK SURFACE LOW AND ASSOCIATED FRONTS WILL BRING THE NEXT CHANCE FOR RAIN AT THE END OF THE WEEK. && .NEAR TERM /TONIGHT/... GOING FORECAST LOOKS GOOD AND ONLY LITTLE TWEAKS MADE. HAVE ADDED SOME TIMING TO DECREASE POPS FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF HOURS IN SOME AREAS LIKE THE NORTHWEST WHERE RADAR TRENDS INDICATE DRY CONDITIONS WILL BE SEEN. THEN RAMP THINGS UP IN THE SOUTHWEST AND WEST AROUND 3-4Z BASED ON THE HRRR OUTPUT. ADDED MENTION OF DAMAGING WINDS TO THE PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED HEAVY RAIN IN THE GRIDS. NOTE THAT LARGE HAIL AND TORNADOES ARE STILL CONSIDERED A THREAT...JUST NOT AS PREDOMINANT AS THE DAMAGING WINDS AND HEAVY RAIN. TORNADO THREAT COULD BE A LITTLE HIGHER IN THE FAR SOUTHWESTERN COUNTIES BASED ON HIGHER SHEAR AND CAPE VALUES THERE INCREASING THE POSSIBILITY FOR SUPERCELL DEVELOPMENT. WILL CONTINUE FLOOD WATCH WITH SATELLITE DERIVED PWATS OVER AN INCH AND FORECAST TO CONTINUE THIS HIGH THROUGH MIDDAY MONDAY. PREVIOUS NEAR TERM...THE MAIN FOCUS OF TONIGHT IS THE POSSIBILITY FOR SEVERE WEATHER AS A STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVES THROUGH THE AREA. DYNAMICS CONTINUE TO LOOK IMPRESSIVE WITH THIS SYSTEM...AND EURO/NAM/GFS HAVE ALL COME INTO AGREEMENT. HIGHLIGHTED THE MON 06-12Z TIME FRAME AS THE BEST PERIOD FOR SEVERE CHANCES ACROSS FORECAST AREA AS STRONG LOW LEVEL JET OF 70 KTS MOVES ACROSS SOUTHERN INDIANA...FOLLOWED BY A STRONG VORT MAX. LATEST MODELS ARE STILL SHOWING A TIGHT AXIS OF MOISTURE ORIENTED ACROSS THE STATE FROM THE SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST FROM MON 06-12Z...AND WARM AIR IS CONTINUING TO ADVECT INTO FORECAST AREA AT THIS TIME. LATEST OBS ARE SHOWING TEMPS APPROACHING THE LOW 60S ACROSS THE SOUTHERN PORTIONS OF THE FORECAST AREA...TO UPPER 50S OVER THE CENTRAL PART...AND LOW 50S ACROSS THE NORTHERN COUNTIES. ADDITIONAL FORCING WILL BE PROVIDED BY THE 100 PLUS KT UPPER LEVEL JET OF WHICH CENTRAL INDIANA IS STILL EXPECTED TO FALL INTO THE UPPER LEFT EXIT REGION. DEEP VERTICAL SHEAR IS STILL PRESENT IN FORECAST SOUNDINGS...AND ML CAPE VALUES WILL APPROACH THE 1000-1500 J/KG RANGE. PWAT VALUES ARE RANGING BETWEEN 1 TO 1.25 INCHES DURING DURATION OF EVENT. SO...EXCESSIVE RAINFALL COUPLED WITH RECENT SNOWMELT WILL RESULT IN A DANGEROUS FLOOD SITUATION. TEMPS...TRENDED ON THE WARMER SIDE OF GUIDANCE WITH TONIGHT/S LOWS AS WARM AIR CONTINUES TO FILTER INTO FORECAST AREA. && .SHORT TERM /TOMORROW THROUGH WEDNESDAY/... ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS WILL LINGER THROUGH TOMORROW MORNING...BUT UPPER LEVEL LOW IS PROGGED TO MOVE THROUGH AROUND MON 15Z...AND ISENTROPIC LIFT CUTS OFF RATHER ABRUPTLY AROUND MON 18Z. SO...DO NOT EXPECT MUCH ADDITIONAL RAIN PAST THE NOON HOUR. BEYOND THAT...HIGH PRESSURE WILL BUILD INTO THE REGION...AND CONDITIONS WILL BE CALM THROUGH THE REMAINDER OF THE SHORT TERM PERIOD. TEMPS...KEPT TEMPS WARMER ACROSS THE SOUTHEAST PORTIONS OF FORECAST AREA FOR TOMORROW...AND SLOWLY STARTED DROPPING THEM ACROSS THE NORTHWEST AS COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH FROM NORTHWEST TO SOUTHEAST. TOMORROW NIGHT AND TUESDAY...STUCK CLOSE TO GUIDANCE. TUESDAY NIGHT...ERRED ON THE COOLER SIDE OF GUIDANCE AS SKIES CLEAR OUT. BEYOND THAT...WENT WITH A BLEND. && .LONG TERM /WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH SUNDAY/ THE BEGINNING OF THE EXTENDED PERIOD WILL START OUT CALM AS HIGH PRESSURE ANCHORS ITSELF OVER CENTRAL INDIANA. HOWEVER...A WEAK SURFACE LOW OVER THE MISSOURI VALLEY WILL ADVECT WARMER AIR AND MOISTURE INTO THE FORECAST AREA BEHIND AN ASSOCIATED WARM FRONT STARTING THURSDAY NIGHT. AS A RESULT...PRECIP CHANCES WILL GRADUALLY INCREASE THROUGH FRIDAY AND LINGER INTO THE FIRST HALF OF THE WEEKEND AS THE SYSTEM BECOMES QUASI-STATIONARY. HPC GUIDANCE HAS A PRETTY GOOD HANDLE ON THE WARM AIR ADVECTION...SO STUCK CLOSE TO GUIDANCE IN REGARD TO PRECIP CHANCES. WILL START OUT WITH SLIGHT CHANCE POPS ON THURSDAY NIGHT...AND GRADUALLY INCREASE TO CHANCE POPS FROM WEST TO EAST BY FRIDAY MORNING. HOWEVER...MOISTURE/ISENTROPIC LIFT ENDS QUICKLY BY SATURDAY EVENING...CUTTING OFF PRECIP LATE SATURDAY NIGHT. TEMPS...WILL STAY WITH COOLER HPC TEMPS ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT. DO NOT THINK AIR WILL RECOVER THAT QUICKLY FROM MONDAY/TUESDAY COLD FRONT. PLUS...SKIES WILL BE CLEAR DUE TO HIGH PRESSURE CONTRIBUTING TO DECENT RADIATIONAL COOLING. THURSDAY...STUCK CLOSE TO GUIDANCE. THURSDAY NIGHT...WENT ABOVE GUIDANCE DUE TO INCREASING CLOUD COVER WITH AFOREMENTIONED FRONT. FRIDAY...WENT WITH GUIDANCE. FRIDAY NIGHT/SAT MORN...DEPENDENT ON WHEN COLD FRONT MOVES THROUGH ON BACK SIDE OF SURFACE LOW. LINGERING CLOUD COVER COULD KEEP OVERNIGHT LOWS UP A BIT. SATURDAY...WENT WITH GUIDANCE...AND SATURDAY NIGHT...ERRED ON COOLER SIDE WITH CLEARING SKIES. && .AVIATION.../FOR 280000Z TAFS/... WARM FRONT EAST WEST ACROSS FORECAST AREA THIS EVENING. LOW PRESSURE TO MOVE FROM SOUTHWEST ALONG THIS FRONT OVERNIGHT...CONVERTING IT INTO COLD FRONT. BY LATE IN PERIOD HIGH PRESSURE WILL BE BUILDING IN FROM THE WEST. WIDESPREAD IFR CIGS AND VSBYS IN RAIN AND FOG INTO MONDAY DUE TO ACTION OF FRONT AND LOW. PRECIPITATION ENDING AND VFR DEVELOPING BY LATE TOMORROW. NUMEROUS THUNDERSTORMS TONIGHT AS LOW PASSES. WINDS GUSTING TO 40 KNOTS IN SOME STORMS. MOSTLY SOUTH WINDS 10-20 KNOTS UNTIL COLD FRONT PASSES. THEN WINDS BECOMING NORTHWEST AROUND 20 KNOTS WITH GUSTS AS HIGH AS 35 KNOTS. WINDS REMAINING NORTHWEST BUT DECREASING TO AROUND 10 KNOTS WITH NO GUSTS LATE IN PERIOD. && .IND WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... FLOOD WATCH FROM MIDNIGHT EST TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY AFTERNOON FOR INZ030-031-036>042-044>049-051>057-060>065-067>072. FLOOD WATCH FROM MIDNIGHT EST TONIGHT THROUGH MONDAY MORNING FOR INZ021-028-029-035-043. && SYNOPSIS...TDUD NEAR TERM...CP SHORT TERM...TDUD LONG TERM....TDUD AVIATION...JK
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN 259 PM EST SUN FEB 27 2011 INZ021-030-031-036>042-045>049-052>057-062>065-072-282000- CARROLL-CLINTON-HOWARD-MONTGOMERY-BOONE-TIPTON-HAMILTON-MADISON- DELAWARE-RANDOLPH-PUTNAM-HENDRICKS-MARION-HANCOCK-HENRY-CLAY-OWEN- MORGAN-JOHNSON-SHELBY-RUSH-MONROE-BROWN-BARTHOLOMEW-DECATUR- JENNINGS- 259 PM EST SUN FEB 27 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL INDIANA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER WITH THE MAIN THREAT BEING DAMAGING WINDS. HOWEVER LARGE HAIL AND ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. THERE IS A FLOOD WATCH LATE TONIGHT. HEAVY RAIN MAY CAUSE SIGNIFICANT FLOODING TO DEVELOP. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. RAIN MAY BE HEAVY AT TIMES EARLY MONDAY WHICH COULD LEAD TO LOCALIZED FLOODING. THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE MONDAY MORNING AND THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER MONDAY MORNING ALONG AND SOUTH OF A SULLIVAN TO GREENSBURG LINE WITH DAMAGING WINDS BEING THE MAIN THREAT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS POSSIBLE BY LATE EVENING TONIGHT. && MORE INFORMATION...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER...HYDROLOGICAL AND CLIMATE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND...AT HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/IND (ALL LOWERCASE) INZ028-029-035-043-044-051-060-061-067>071-282000- WARREN-TIPPECANOE-FOUNTAIN-VERMILLION-PARKE-VIGO-SULLIVAN-GREENE- KNOX-DAVIESS-MARTIN-LAWRENCE-JACKSON- 259 PM EST SUN FEB 27 2011 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL INDIANA. .DAY ONE...THIS AFTERNOON AND TONIGHT. LOWLAND FLOODING IS EXPECTED ALONG MANY RIVERS. CHECK LATEST STATEMENTS FOR DETAILS. THERE IS ALSO A FLOOD WATCH LATE TONIGHT. HEAVY RAIN WILL CAUSE SIGNIFICANT FLOODING TO DEVELOP. THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE TONIGHT. THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER WITH THE MAIN THREAT BEING DAMAGING WINDS. HOWEVER LARGE HAIL AND ISOLATED TORNADOES ARE ALSO POSSIBLE. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...MONDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. RAIN MAY BE HEAVY AT TIMES EARLY MONDAY WHICH COULD LEAD TO LOCALIZED FLOODING. THUNDERSTORMS ARE POSSIBLE MONDAY MORNING AND THERE IS A SLIGHT RISK OF SEVERE WEATHER MONDAY MORNING ALONG AND SOUTH OF A SULLIVAN TO GREENSBURG LINE WITH DAMAGING WINDS BEING THE MAIN THREAT. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... SPOTTER ACTIVATION IS POSSIBLE BY LATE EVENING TONIGHT. && MORE INFORMATION...ALONG WITH OTHER WEATHER...HYDROLOGICAL AND CLIMATE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND...AT HTTP://WEATHER.GOV/IND (ALL LOWERCASE)
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN 558 PM EST SUN FEB 27 2011 INZ064-070>072-272330- BARTHOLOMEW-JACKSON-JENNINGS-LAWRENCE- 558 PM EST SUN FEB 27 2011 AT 554 PM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A THUNDERSTORM 5 MILES NORTHWEST OF BROWNSTOWN...OR 12 MILES WEST OF SEYMOUR...AND MOVING NORTHEAST AT 55 MPH. * THE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR... CORTLAND AND SEYMOUR AROUND 605 PM EST... JONESVILLE AROUND 610 PM EST... AZALIA AND ELIZABETHTOWN AROUND 615 PM EST... SCIPIO AND COUNTRY SQUIRE LAKES AROUND 620 PM EST... PEA SIZED HAIL AND OCCASIONAL LIGHTNING MAY ACCOMPANY THIS STORM. STAY AWAY FROM HIGH OBJECTS OUTDOORS SUCH AS TREES. SEEK SHELTER IN A STURDY STRUCTURE UNTIL THIS STORM HAS PASSED. MRD
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN 629 PM EST SUN FEB 27 2011 INZ065-280000- DECATUR- 629 PM EST SUN FEB 27 2011 AT 626 PM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED A THUNDERSTORM 12 MILES NORTH OF NORTH VERNON...OR 13 MILES EAST OF COLUMBUS...AND MOVING NORTHEAST AT 55 MPH. * THE THUNDERSTORM WILL BE NEAR... LETTS AROUND 635 PM EST... GREENSBURG AND MILLHOUSEN AROUND 640 PM EST... NEWPOINT AROUND 650 PM EST... LAKE SANTEE AROUND 655 PM EST... PEA SIZED HAIL AND OCCASIONAL LIGHTNING MAY ACCOMPANY THIS STORM. STAY AWAY FROM HIGH OBJECTS OUTDOORS SUCH AS TREES. SEEK SHELTER IN A STURDY STRUCTURE UNTIL THIS STORM HAS PASSED. MRD/JK
SPECIAL WEATHER STATEMENT NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN 916 PM EST SUN FEB 27 2011 INZ030-035>037-039-044>046-280245- BOONE-CLINTON-FOUNTAIN-HAMILTON-HENDRICKS-MONTGOMERY-PARKE-PUTNAM- 916 PM EST SUN FEB 27 2011 AT 912 PM EST...NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE DOPPLER RADAR INDICATED THUNDERSTORMS ALONG A LINE EXTENDING FROM 6 MILES EAST OF NEWPORT TO 12 MILES SOUTHWEST OF CRAWFORDSVILLE TO 11 MILES NORTHWEST OF DANVILLE...AND MOVING NORTHEAST AT 70 MPH. * THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE NEAR... WALLACE AND SHADES STATE PARK AROUND 920 PM EST... ADVANCE AROUND 925 PM EST... WHITESTOWN AND CRAWFORDSVILLE AROUND 930 PM EST... ULEN AND THORNTOWN AROUND 935 PM EST... MORSE RESERVOIR AND SHERIDAN AROUND 945 PM EST... SMALL HAIL AND FREQUENT LIGHTNING MAY ACCOMPANY THIS LINE OF STORMS. GUSTY WINDS MAY CAUSE SMALL OBJECTS SUCH AS TRASH BINS TO BLOW AROUND. STAY AWAY FROM HIGH OBJECTS OUTDOORS SUCH AS TREES. SEEK SHELTER IN A STURDY STRUCTURE UNTIL THESE STORMS HAVE PASSED. MRD/JK
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
1008 PM EST SUN FEB 27 2011
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0922 PM HAIL 1 N JAMESTOWN 39.94N 86.63W
02/27/2011 E0.25 INCH BOONE IN LAW ENFORCEMENT
0940 PM HAIL 2 NW THORNTOWN 40.15N 86.64W
02/27/2011 E0.25 INCH BOONE IN LAW ENFORCEMENT
PEA SIZE HAIL ABOUT HALFWAY BETWEEN COLFAX AND THORNTOWN
&&
CPThe Indianapolis radar (KIND), 87 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 03:08 UTC.
6 thunderstorm wind, 5 hail, 1 tornado. Local standard time, as filed.
Evergreen trees, 40 to 50 feet tall, were knocked over near US Highway 31 and State Road 22 due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts.
A farmer's large sprinkler system was blown over due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts.
Nickel to quarter sized hail was reported in this location, along with gusty winds from a severe thunderstorm.
A small, brief tornado touched down in extreme southern Madison County just west of the town of Ingalls at approximately 12:30 AM EST. The tornado began near County Road 1050 South, just west of County Road 750 West, pushing the roof off of a house. From there the tornado continued north, damaging a large barn up the hill north of the flooding Lick Creek. The tornado also destroyed a pole barn, damaged a home, and a 30 foot long trailer along County Road 1000 South. Further damage to trees occurred across the road from the pole barn before the tornado lifted. Based on the damage to the homes and barns, the tornado produced EF1 intensity damage with maximum winds estimated at just over 100 mph. The tornadoes path was just over a half mile long.
Downburst straight-line wind damage in the form of downed trees, limbs and power lines occurred on State Road 67 in Fortville at Motel Road, Industrial Drive and just north and west of the downtown area. Roofs were also blown off homes and a semi-truck was blown over as well. Two garages were reported to have collapsed also.
Part of a roof was torn off a house due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts. A swing set was also blown across a yard.
Power lines were reported down in this location due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts.
A few shingles were blown off a roof on State Road 7 near Highway 31 due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Indiana in 2011Every state in 2011This day in weather historyThe tornado archive for Indiana, 2011Warnings in Indiana, February 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: 284185, 287756, 287753, 287101, 287755, 284243, 284214, 284246, 287752, 284237, 287754, 287757.