Slow moving thunderstorms developed across central portions of Indiana during the afternoon and evening hours of August 26th. One particular band developed from southwest to northeast over the Indianapolis metropolitan area.
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.
Slow moving thunderstorms developed across central portions of Indiana during the afternoon and evening hours of August 26th. One particular band developed from southwest to northeast over the Indianapolis metropolitan area. This led to numerous flash flooding reports across Indianapolis.
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 26, 3:22 PM EST, 38 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Indianapolis IN 422 PM EDT FRI AUG 26 2016 .UPDATE... The AVIATION Section has been updated below. && .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 253 PM EDT Fri Aug 26 2016 A front will meander across the area during the weekend keeping chances for showers and thunderstorms in the forecast. Another frontal system will bring more rain chances then through mid week. Temperatures will remain above normal through early next week, then return to closer to average. && .NEAR TERM.../Rest of This Afternoon and Tonight/ Issued at 253 PM EDT Fri Aug 26 2016 Additional convection is developing across the area now near the old front that is across the central forecast area at the moment. There also remains an old outflow boundary across the southeastern forecast area which may bring more convection. Will go with chance pops across a good part of the area for the remainder of the afternoon. There could be a few strong to severe storms this afternoon given the instability and some shear. During the night expect more convection to fire west of the area as more energy rides around an upper ridge and 850mb winds increase. Some of this convection may get into the area. Will end up going chance pops across the western 2/3 of the area with lower pops east, further away from the forcing. Stayed close to a model blend for low temperatures. && .SHORT TERM.../Saturday through Monday/ Issued at 253 PM EDT Fri Aug 26 2016 Focus remains on chances for rain through the period. Models are pretty close overall with the big picture but differ on when/where better chances for rainfall will occur. Thus not a lot of confidence in pops through the period with no clear focus for forcing of convection through most of the period. The old frontal boundary will remain in the area into the weekend. Area will generally remain on the periphery of an upper high, which will allow various upper disturbances to rotate around the high into the area. Since timing of these features is uncertain, uncertainty in timing of pops is higher. Higher pops will exist on Saturday as our area will also have some additional upper support from the right rear entrance region to an upper jet to our north. Thus will go higher end chance category pops Saturday into Saturday evening. Otherwise with no clear focus for convection generally went slight chance pops at night and low chance pops during the day through Monday. Hot and humid conditions will persist through the short term with no significant change in airmass expected. A model blend of temperatures reflects this well. && .LONG TERM /Monday Night through Friday/... Issued at 236 PM EDT Fri Aug 26 2016 Models suggest the area will be on the periphery of weak upper level ridging, particularly early in the week. Thunderstorm chances will be necessary much of the long term, but cannot justify more than 20 to 30 pops as convection will be either diurnally driven or subject to subtle disturbances that models simply cannot handle on such time scales. Blended initialization was reasonable and required only minor changes. && .AVIATION /Discussion for the 262100Z KIND TAF Update/... Issued at 422 PM EDT Fri Aug 26 2016 Combination of a diffuse frontal zone, several outflow boundaries, and an instability axis located over central Indiana, suggests the threat for convection at and in the vicinity of the KIND terminal is quite high for the rest of the afternoon and early evening hours. Brief IFR visibility restrictions and gusty shifting winds expected in and near heavier convective cells. Previous discussion follows. VFR conditions expected through the afternoon and evening. MVFR fog appears possible late tonight, mainly at the outlying sites. Cannot rule out brief IFR as well, but too uncertain to include right now. Cannot rule out isolated thunderstorms this afternoon and evening, but probability is too low to include. Better chances expected later tonight into Saturday and will include VCSH mention. Winds will be less than 10kt throughout the period and occasionally variable. && .IND Watches/Warnings/Advisories...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...50 NEAR TERM...50 SHORT TERM...50 LONG TERM...NIELD AVIATION...NIELD/JAS
HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN 453 AM EDT FRI AUG 26 2016 INZ021-028>031-035>049-051>057-060>065-067>072-270900- 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- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...LAFAYETTE...FRANKFORT...KOKOMO... CRAWFORDSVILLE...ANDERSON...MUNCIE...INDIANAPOLIS...TERRE HAUTE... SHELBYVILLE...BLOOMINGTON...COLUMBUS...VINCENNES...BEDFORD...SEYMOUR 453 AM EDT FRI AUG 26 2016 THIS HAZARDOUS WEATHER OUTLOOK IS FOR CENTRAL INDIANA. .DAY ONE...TODAY AND TONIGHT. OUTLOOK: PATCHY FOG IS POSSIBLE THIS MORNING. THERE IS A CHANCE FOR THUNDERSTORMS TODAY AND TONIGHT. HAZARDS: REDUCED VISIBILITY FROM FOG. HEAVY DOWNPOURS...LIGHTNING...GUSTY WINDS FROM THUNDERSTORMS. TIMING: FOG POSSIBLE THROUGH 9 AM. THUNDERSTORMS POSSIBLE TODAY AND TONIGHT. DISCUSSION: A STALLED FRONTAL BOUNDARY WILL KEEP SMALL CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS ACROSS THE AREA TODAY...AND COMBINED WITH NEAR CALM WINDS WILL ALSO ALLOW FOR PATCHY FOG FORMATION THIS MORNING. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. OUTLOOK: THERE ARE CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY. AT THIS TIME WIDESPREAD SEVERE STORMS ARE NOT EXPECTED...BUT LIGHTNING IS A THREAT FROM ANY THUNDERSTORM. DISCUSSION: UPPER WAVES MOVING THROUGH ON THE EDGES OF AN UPPER RIDGE WILL KEEP CHANCES FOR THUNDERSTORMS IN THE FORECAST THROUGH THE PERIOD. .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), 89 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 21:01 UTC.
15 flash flood. Local standard time, as filed.
Highway 40 was flooded near the intersection with Baker Street due to heavy thunderstorm rainfall.
The Rathskeller German Restaurant was flooded with a least a couple inches of water due to heavy thunderstorm rainfall.
Street flooding was reported in Fishers due to heavy thunderstorm rainfall.
Street flooding was reported in Fishers due to heavy thunderstorm rainfall.
Cars were stranded on a ramp near this location due to heavy thunderstorm rainfall.
Cars were trapped in flood water on Martin Luther King Jr. Street due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts.
Some side streets, south of Broad Ripple Avenue, had up to two feet of water on them due to heavy thunderstorm rainfall.
The parking lot at Castleton Square was flooded due to heavy thunderstorm rainfall.
The dugout at Victory Field Baseball Stadium was flooded with over a foot of water due to heavy thunderstorm rainfall.
Several inches of water was over the intersection of Allisonville Road and 65th Street due to heavy thunderstorm rainfall.
A car was half submerged in flood water underneath an overpass on Washington Street near Tibbs Avenue due to heavy thunderstorm rainfall.
The Marion University Amphitheater was flooded with water about three feet deep due to heavy thunderstorm rainfall.
Flood water was entering the Raleigh Building at Pennsylvania Street and 13th Street due to heavy thunderstorm rainfall.
High water was reported by an off-duty NWS employee on Kentucky Avenue near Raymond Street due to heavy thunderstorm rainfall.
Water was halfway up car tires at the intersection of Olney Street and Brockton Drive due to heavy thunderstorm rainfall.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Indiana in 2016Every state in 2016This day in weather historyWarnings in Indiana, August 2016
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: 658667, 658671, 658673, 658674, 658676, 658683, 658685, 658693, 658707, 658709, 658710, 658711, 658712, 658713, 658714.