A line of thunderstorms swept from west to east across central Indiana during the late evening and overnight of May 9th into the 10th. Just before midnight, local time, one of the storms within the line strengthened as it moved through the central and northern portion of Marion County.
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 line of thunderstorms swept from west to east across central Indiana during the late evening and overnight of May 9th into the 10th. Just before midnight, local time, one of the storms within the line strengthened as it moved through the central and northern portion of Marion County. This led to a wind damage report out of the Lawrence 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 9, 9:22 PM EST, 1 hour 28 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Indianapolis IN 1022 PM EDT Wed May 9 2018 .UPDATE... The AVIATION Section has been updated below. && .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 303 PM EDT Wed May 9 2018 A cold front will drop southeast across central Indiana tonight. The front combined with sufficient moisture, instability and wind shear will trigger scattered to numerous thunderstorms late today and tonight. A few could be strong or severe. Then, the front will oscillate back and fourth over central Indiana with the result of periodic showers and thunderstorms through the middle of next week. Temperatures will be above to well above normal with highs mostly in the 80s. && .NEAR TERM (Rest of Today and Tonight)... Issued at 303 PM EDT Wed May 9 2018 Thunderstorms, including some strong or severe will be the main concern late afternoon and this evening. Models in good agreement that a surface low, near Dubuque Iowa early this afternoon, will lift north into Ontario late this evening. As it does, an associated warm front will lift northeast across central Indiana late this afternoon and a cold front will drop southeast across central Indiana tonight. As the warm front moves through and dry air moves in a aloft, instability should increase with late day and early evening sfc based CAPES expected to plateau near 1000 J/KG. The front and upper wave moving over the Great Lakes combined with the instability and increasing bulk shear should trigger scattered to numerous late day and evening thunderstorms. A few could be severe with damaging winds being the main threat. That said, would not rule out an isolated tornado near and north of a Muncie to Tipton to Lafayette line, where the stronger shear is. The activity should drop off overnight from northwest to southeast as the front progresses and instability wanes. Blend temperatures look reasonable but there is some uncertainty especially southeast as the exact location of the cold front at 12z will make a difference of a few degrees on either side of it. && .SHORT TERM (Thursday through Saturday)... Issued at 303 PM EDT Wed May 9 2018 The main focus for the short term will be on shower and thunderstorm timing and will be made difficult as a front will be over the area and oscillating across the region. Models in fair agreement that the cold front will stall south of central Indiana on Thursday allowing for plenty of sunshine and dry weather. However, the front will then move back to the north Thursday night into Friday and then south across our area again Saturday. This would support the blend chance PoPs Thursday night into Friday and again on Saturday with low confidence in exact timing and coverage. Do not expect to see any severe weather but could see some garden variety storms by Friday per model instability progs. With the exact timing and location of the front in doubt, so too will be the temperatures at times. That said, good confidence most locales will see well above normal temperatures with highs in the 80s Friday and Saturday per the blend. && .LONG TERM /Saturday Night Through Wednesday/... Issued at 218 PM EDT Wed May 9 2018 Models are close enough that the model blend initialization was accepted for most items. A front will meander around the area during the long term, with the models differing on frontal placement and location of best chances for rain. This results in daily chances for rain, with a low confidence on timing and location of higher PoPs through the period. Temperatures will remain above normal through mid-week next week, but again confidence is lower in specifics due to the uncertainties in front location and rainfall. && .AVIATION /Discussion for the 10/03Z TAF Update/... Issued at 1021 PM EDT Wed May 9 2018 Update... No changes. Previous Discussion... The thunderstorm threat has been minimal so far. However, a line of showers and thunderstorms is approaching from Illinois at this time. So, will leave VCTS in TAFs through Thu 05Z. Conditions will generally be VFR outside of any convection, but as always there could be quick deterioration in flight categories in any storms that do form. Meanwhile, gusty southwest winds will continue into the night with a threat for low level wind shear through Thu 05Z. && .IND WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...MK NEAR TERM...MK SHORT TERM...MK LONG TERM....50/ES AVIATION...TDUD
Hazardous Weather Outlook...UPDATED National Weather Service Indianapolis IN 332 PM EDT Wed May 9 2018 INZ021-028>031-035>049-051>057-060>065-067>072-101000- 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, and Seymour 332 PM EDT Wed May 9 2018 This hazardous weather outlook is for central Indiana. .DAY ONE...This Afternoon and Tonight. Outlook: Thunderstorms will develop late this afternoon and evening. Some could be strong or severe. Hazards: Damaging winds are the main threat. However, large hail is possible and an isolated tornado can not be ruled out mainly near and north of a Muncie to Tipton to Lafayette line. Cloud to ground lightning and brief heavy rain are also threats with any storm. Timing: Best threat for severe storms are from 5 PM to 11 PM. Discussion: A cold front will drop southeast across central Indiana tonight. The front will interact with sufficient moisture, instability and wind shear and result in scattered to numerous thunderstorms, some of which could be strong or severe. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday. Outlook: Thunderstorm activity is possible at times over all or parts of central Indiana Thursday night into Friday and again starting Saturday. Severe storms are not expected at this time. However, any storm is capable of producing cloud to ground lightning, gusty winds and brief heavy rain. Discussion: A frontal system is expected to meander across the area into early next week. This will result in periodic thunderstorm chances. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation may be needed through this evening. && More information, along with other weather, hydrological and climate information can be found at http://weather.gov/ind
Special Weather Statement
National Weather Service Indianapolis IN
635 PM EDT WED MAY 9 2018
INZ028-029-035-036-043-092315-
Montgomery IN-Fountain IN-Warren IN-Vermillion IN-Tippecanoe IN-
635 PM EDT WED MAY 9 2018
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR FOUNTAIN...WESTERN TIPPECANOE...
WARREN...NORTH CENTRAL VERMILLION AND NORTHWESTERN MONTGOMERY
COUNTIES UNTIL 715 PM EDT...
At 635 PM EDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 8
miles northwest of Covington, or 9 miles northeast of Danville,
moving northeast at 45 mph.
Half inch hail and wind gusts of 50 to 55 mph will be possible with
this storm.
Locations impacted include...
West Lafayette, Covington, Veedersburg, Williamsport, Attica,
Shadeland, West Lebanon, Hillsboro, Perrysville, New Richmond,
Wingate, Newtown, Pine Village, Mellott, State Line City, Pence,
Foster, Tab, Rainsville and Gessie.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
This storm may intensify, so be certain to monitor local radio
stations and available television stations for additional information
and possible warnings from the National Weather Service.
&&
LAT...LON 4048 8753 4048 8709 4052 8709 4050 8694
4017 8695 4001 8746 4014 8753
TIME...MOT...LOC 2235Z 217DEG 40KT 4023 8749
TDUDSpecial Weather Statement
National Weather Service Indianapolis IN
1015 PM EDT WED MAY 9 2018
INZ035-043-044-100300-
Fountain IN-Parke IN-Vermillion IN-
1015 PM EDT WED MAY 9 2018
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR SOUTHERN FOUNTAIN...PARKE AND
VERMILLION COUNTIES UNTIL 1100 PM EDT...
At 1014 PM EDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm near
Ridge Farm, or 17 miles north of Paris, moving east at 40 mph.
Half inch hail and wind gusts of 50 to 55 mph will be possible with
this storm.
Locations impacted include...
Clinton, Rockville, Veedersburg, Newport, Fairview Park, Cayuga,
Montezuma, Rosedale, Dana, Hillsboro, Kingman, Perrysville,
Universal, Mecca, Bloomingdale, Marshall, Mellott, Wallace, Lodi and
Bridgeton.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
This storm may intensify, so be certain to monitor local radio
stations and available television stations for additional information
and possible warnings from the National Weather Service.
&&
LAT...LON 4007 8753 4018 8711 4010 8709 3987 8709
3987 8703 3977 8701 3961 8701 3962 8753
TIME...MOT...LOC 0214Z 248DEG 36KT 3986 8761
TDUDSpecial Weather Statement
National Weather Service Indianapolis IN
1019 PM EDT WED MAY 9 2018
INZ056-057-100300-
Rush IN-Shelby IN-
1019 PM EDT WED MAY 9 2018
...SIGNIFICANT WEATHER ADVISORY FOR EAST CENTRAL SHELBY AND RUSH
COUNTIES UNTIL 1100 PM EDT...
At 1019 PM EDT, Doppler radar was tracking a strong thunderstorm 9
miles southwest of Rushville, or 10 miles east of Shelbyville, moving
northeast at 60 mph.
Half inch hail and wind gusts of 50 to 55 mph will be possible with
this storm.
Locations impacted include...
Rushville, St. Paul, Milroy, Glenwood, New Salem, Manilla, Falmouth,
Mays, Moscow and Arlington.
PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
This storm may intensify, so be certain to monitor local radio
stations and available television stations for additional information
and possible warnings from the National Weather Service.
&&
LAT...LON 3945 8549 3945 8563 3942 8563 3957 8573
3979 8548 3979 8535 3978 8530 3952 8530
TIME...MOT...LOC 0219Z 233DEG 50KT 3954 8559
TDUDThe Indianapolis radar (KIND), 29 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 03:51 UTC.
1 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A large tree limb broke off due damaging thunderstorm wind gusts and damaged a parked car. Power lines were always reported down.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Indiana in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Indiana, May 2018
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: 762437.