A line of thunderstorms developed along a frontal boundary over northwest Indiana during the late afternoon hours of May the 18th. As these storms pushed east-southeast into central Indiana during the early evening, one moved over Tipton County causing some wind damage in the Sharpsville area.
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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 line of thunderstorms developed along a frontal boundary over northwest Indiana during the late afternoon hours of May the 18th. As these storms pushed east-southeast into central Indiana during the early evening, one moved over Tipton County causing some wind damage in the Sharpsville area.
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 18, 5:36 PM EST, 19 minutes earlier.
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN 636 PM EDT MON MAY 18 2015 .UPDATE... THE AVIATION SECTION HAS BEEN UPDATED. && .SYNOPSIS... ISSUED AT 135 PM EDT MON MAY 18 2015 A COLD FRONT WILL EXIT CENTRAL INDIANA TONIGHT ALLOWING COOL...CANADIAN HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE NORTHERN PLAINS TO SETTLE ACROSS THE OHIO VALLEY THROUGH THE MIDDLE OF THE WEEK. THIS WILL RESULT IN DRY AND COOLER WEATHER THROUGH WEDNESDAY. CLOUDS ARE EXPECTED TO ARRIVE ON ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT INTO THURSDAY AS AN UPPER LEVEL WEATHER DISTURBANCE IS EXPECTED TO PUSH INTO THE AREA. WARMER WEATHER ALONG WITH CHANCES FOR SHOWERS ARE EXPECTED THIS WEEKEND. && .NEAR TERM /TONIGHT/... ISSUED AT 135 PM EDT MON MAY 18 2015 SURFACE ANALYSIS EARLY THIS AFTERNOON SHOW A COLD FRONT FROM LAKE MICHIGAN ACROSS EASTERN ILLINOIS TO SE MISSOURI. STRONG AND BROAD HIGH PRESSURE WAS IN PLACE OVER THE DAKOTAS. RADAR CONTINUES TO SHOW SCT LIGHT PRECIP CONTAINED TO SOUTHERN INDIANA...WELL SOUTH OF THE COLD FRONT. SATELLITE SHOWS CLOUDY SKIES AHEAD OF THE FRONT AND SUNNY SKIES IN IT/S WAKE. MAIN FORECAST CHALLENGE TONIGHT WILL BE TEMPS. THE COLD FRONT IS EXPECTED TO QUICKLY CROSS CENTRAL INDIANA TONIGHT. GFS AND NAM BOTH SUGGEST STRONG COLD AIR ADVECTION OVERNIGHT AS 850MB TEMPS FALL TO NEAR 11C BY TUESDAY MORNING. FORECAST SOUNDINGS SHOW A DRY COLUMN OVERNIGHT. PER SATELLITE...CLEAR SKIES ARE EXPECTED TO INVADE THIS EVENING IN THE WAKE OF THE FRONT. THUS A DRY FORECAST. LOW TEMPS THIS MORNING UPSTREAM IN THE WAKE OF THE FRONT WERE MAINLY IN THE UPPER 40S...AND WILL USE VALUES CLOSE TO THOSE...GENERALLY ENDING ON NUMBERS AT OR BELOW MAVMOS. && .SHORT TERM /TUESDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... ISSUED AT 135 PM EDT MON MAY 18 2015 DRY WEATHER IS EXPECTED THROUGH AT LEAST WEDNESDAY. GFS AND NAM BOTH SUGGEST STRONG HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE NORTHERN PLAINS STATES NOSING A SURFACE RIDGE ACROSS THE GREAT LAKES AND INDIANA THROUGH THURSDAY. A COOL...NORTHERLY AND DRY CONTINENTAL FLOW OF AIR IS EXPECTED TO CENTRAL INDIANA THROUGH THE PERIOD. FORECAST SOUNDINGS THROUGH WEDNESDAY SHOW UNREACHABLE CONVECTIVE TEMPERATURES AMID A DRY COLUMN. THUS PARTLY CLOUDY DAYS AND MOSTLY CLEAR NIGHTS WILL BE EXPECTED THROUGH WEDNESDAY. WILL USE A BLEND ON LOWS AND HIGHS THROUGH WEDNESDAY. GFS AND NAM THEN SUGGEST AN SHORT WAVE PUSHING OUT OF THE CENTRAL PLAINS WITHIN THE UPPER FLOW. GOOD FORCING APPEARS IN PLACE WITH THIS FEATURE...HOWEVER MOISTURE IS A PROBLEM. LOWER LEVEL FLOW WILL STILL BE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF STRONG HIGH PRESSURE AND SURFACE RIDGING...ALONG WITH A NORTHERLY FLOW OF DRY AIR. FORECAST SOUNDINGS ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT FAIL TO SHOW LOWER LEVEL SATURATION...AS THEY ALSO DO ON THURSDAY. CONVECTIVE TEMPS APPEAR REACHABLE ON THURSDAY...HOWEVER A SUGGESTED MID LEVEL CAP SHOULD PREVENT MUCH IN THE WAY OF CONVECTION. CAPE IS NIL. THUS WILL WILL MAINLY LOOK FOR SOME HIGH CLOUDS INVADING ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT AND THURSDAY ASSOCIATED WITH THIS UPPER WAVE. AS FOR TEMPS WILL TREND LOWS ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT WARMER THAN MAVMOS GIVEN THE EXPECTED ARRIVAL OF CLOUDS...AND TREND HIGHS COOLER THAN MEXMOS ON THURSDAY AS CLOUDS MAY LINGER THROUGH THE DAY. && .LONG TERM /THURSDAY NIGHT THROUGH MONDAY/... ISSUED AT 156 PM EDT MON MAY 18 2015 PROBLEMS WITH THIS TIME FRAME IS WITH TIMING OF RAIN COMING TO INDIANA FOR THE MEMORIAL WEEKEND. STILL SOME DIFFERENCES IN LONGER RANGE MODELS AND WILL USE A BLEND. THIS PERIOD STARTS DRY AND COOL UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF CANADIAN SURFACE HIGH PRESSURE AND BACKSIDE OF EASTERN UPPER TROUGH. AS THESE FEATURES PROGRESS EAST THROUGH FRIDAY A COUPLE OF WAVES DROP INTO A LARGE UPPER TROUGH OVER THE WESTERN US. INTERACTION IF ANY OF THESE TWO WAVES MAY IMPACT HOW FAST AND FAR EAST INITIAL WAVE EJECTS INTO THE PLAINS AND AFFECT INDIANA. MODELS SIMILAR THIS PAST WEEKEND WITH SYSTEM AFFECTING MAINLY PLAIN STATES WITH WEAKENING SHORT WAVES RIDING UP RIDGING AND BRINGING SOME SHOWER/STORM ROUNDS TO INDIANA. SUNDAY AFTERNOON SEEMS TO BE CONSENSUS START WITH RAIN FROM MODELS IN CENTRAL INDIANA BUT THERE ARE ALSO HINTS THAT THIS COULD PUSH ACROSS NW INDIANA FIRST. AGAIN LIKE LAST WEEKEND EXPECT MANY DRY HOURS BUT SEVERAL IN-BETWEEN PERIODS THAT BRING SOME RAIN AND STORMS. AS FOR TEMPS...WILL CONTINUE WITH BLEND OF CURRENT FORECAST AND NEW GUIDANCE WHICH STARTS THE PERIOD BELOW NORMAL WITH A SLOW RISE TO NORMAL BY THE WEEKEND. MODELS AGREE IN SURFACE AND UPPER HIGH PRESSURE RIDGING TO MAINTAIN DRY WEATHER WITH SEASONABLE TEMPERATURES THIS PERIOD. OFFSHORE TROUGH BRINGS RAIN THREAT CLOSE ON WEDNESDAY BUT DRY AIR IN PLACE SHOULD KEEP RAIN FROM OCCURRING. MODEL DIFFERENCES FOR MEMORIAL WEEKEND AS TO RAIN ARRIVAL BUT SHOULD BE SORTED OUT AS THAT TIME PERIOD APPROACHES. GUIDANCE TEMPERATURES AND POPS FOLLOWED USING A BLEND OF DATA SOURCES. && .AVIATION /DISCUSSION FOR THE 190000Z TAFS/... ISSUED AT 636 PM EDT MON MAY 18 2015 FRONTAL SYSTEM CURRENTLY PAST KLAF AND SHOULD PASS THROUGH KHUF SHORTLY. SHORT TERM MODELS SUGGESTS THIS FRONT WILL CLEAR THE REMAINDER OF THE TAF SITES AROUND 190200Z OR SO. SCATTERED CONVECTION HAS BEEN DEVELOPING NEAR THE FRONTAL ZONE OVER THE PAST COUPLE OF HOURS. INSTABILITY AXIS LIES TO THE EAST OF THE CURRENT CONVECTION...SO CONVECTION MAY INCREASE IN COVERAGE AS THE FRONT MOVES EAST. WILL MAKE A DECISION BY ISSUANCE TIME AS TO WHETHER CONVECTION WILL NEED TO BE MENTIONED IN THE FORECAST AT KIND/KBMG. CB BASES 030-040. OTHERWISE...UNLIMITED CEILINGS AND UNRESTRICTED VISIBILITY EXPECTED IN THE WAKE OF THE FRONT. SURFACE WINDS GENERALLY 230-260 DEGREES AT 8-11 KTS EXPECTED TO VEER AROUND TO 290-310 DEGREES BY LATE EVENING. A FEW SURFACE GUSTS AROUND 20 KTS PROBABLE IN THE KLAF/KHUF AREAS UNTIL SUNSET. && .IND WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... NONE. && SYNOPSIS...PUMA NEAR TERM...PUMA SHORT TERM...PUMA LONG TERM....TUCEK AVIATION...JAS VISIT US AT HTTP://WWW.WEATHER.GOV/IND FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK...TWITTER AND YOUTUBE AT: WWW.FACEBOOK.COM/NWSINDIANAPOLIS WWW.TWITTER.COM/NWSINDIANAPOLIS WWW.YOUTUBE.COM/NWSINDIANAPOLIS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN 421 PM EDT MON MAY 18 2015 INZ021-028>031-035>049-051>057-060>065-067>072-192030- 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- 421 PM EDT MON MAY 18 2015 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL INDIANA. .DAY ONE...TONIGHT. OUTLOOK: THERE IS A CHANCE FOR ISOLATED THUNDERSTORMS THIS EVENING. A FEW STORMS MAY PRODUCE GUSTY WINDS...SMALL HAIL AND CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING. HOWEVER WE ARE NOT EXPECTING ANY OUTBREAKS OF SEVERE WEATHER. HAZARDS: CLOUD TO GROUND LIGHTNING...GUSTY WINDS...SMALL HAIL. TIMING: THIS EVENING. DISCUSSION: A WARM AND MOIST SOUTHWEST FLOW WILL CONTINUE THIS EVENING. A COLD FRONT WILL MOVE EAST ACROSS OUR REGION LATE THIS EVENING/EARLY TONIGHT ENDING ANY CHANCE OF THUNDERSTORMS AFTER IT MOVES THROUGH. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...TUESDAY THROUGH SUNDAY. OUTLOOK: QUIET WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL BE THE RULE TUESDAY THROUGH SATURDAY. THE ONLY EXCEPTION WILL BE A LOW CHANCE FOR RAIN SHOWERS ON WEDNESDAY NIGHT. THE NEXT CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS WILL BE SATURDAY NIGHT AND SUNDAY...BUT IT IS TOO EARLY TO SAY WHETHER ANY OF THESE STORMS WILL BE SEVERE. DISCUSSION: A WEAKENING AREA OF LOW PRESSURE MOVING FROM THE CENTRAL PLAINS TOWARDS TENNESSEE WILL PRODUCE A CHANCE OF LIGHT SHOWERS LATE WEDNESDAY. OTHERWISE...DRY AND COOLER WEATHER CONDITIONS WILL BE THE RULE THIS WEEK AS HIGH PRESSURE OVER THE NORTHERN PLAINS MOVES EAST ACROSS OUR REGION. AN AREA OF LOW PRESSURE MOVING INTO THE CENTRAL PLAINS WILL CAUSE A WARM FRONT TO MOVE OUR WAY SATURDAY NIGHT WHICH WILL CAUSE INCREASING CHANCES OF SHOWERS AND A FEW THUNDERSTORMS. .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 Indianapolis radar (KIND), 77 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 22:56 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Three trees were reported down due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts. Power outages were also reported.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Indiana in 2015Every state in 2015This day in weather historyWarnings in Indiana, May 2015
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: 579960.