Isolated thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours in an unstable air mass that was in place across the region.
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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 ILN wrote it up.
Isolated thunderstorms developed during the afternoon hours in an unstable air mass that was in place across the region.
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 Wilmington, OH wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at May 26, 12:56 PM EST, 1 hour 8 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Wilmington OH 156 PM EDT Sat May 26 2018 .SYNOPSIS... An upper level disturbance will move across the region today bringing shower and thunderstorm chances back to the Ohio Valley. The best chance of rain today will be in the afternoon and evening hours. A few additional storms will be possible Sunday and Monday with warmer weather forecast. && .NEAR TERM /UNTIL 6 PM THIS EVENING/... Convection has been slow to get going this morning. Latest runs of the mesoscale models are now suggesting that the pcpn over Indiana will move into the region after 18Z. So cut back on the PoPs this morning, but kept the likely showers and thunderstorms this afternoon. Didn't make any changes to the highs today. Left them into the lower to mid 80s. && .SHORT TERM /6 PM THIS EVENING THROUGH 6 PM SUNDAY/... This evening showers and thunderstorms will be likely across the area and slowly decrease in coverage as daytime heating is lost. This evening the shortwave will also exit the area with weak subsidence and drier air moving in behind. PWATs Sunday morning will continue to fall and be below 1.00" across our far northwestern zones. The exception will be across our southeastern zones were moist air will try to hold on. At the same time Sunday, mid-level ridging will begin to take hold across the central United States with 850 mb temperatures responding accordingly across our western zones. Both the ECMWF and GFS are in fairly good agreement with 850 mb temperatures rising to around 18 degrees C across our western zones. These warm low level thermal profiles with a potentially wet ground will make for a complicated Sunday high temperature forecast. In general, drier soil will warm up quicker than moist soil, meaning that the spatial distribution and intensity of todays rainfall will likely impact Sundays high temperatures. For now, have just raised temperatures up across the board for Sunday, but a tighter west/ east temperature gradient will likely exist than currently depicted. && .LONG TERM /SUNDAY NIGHT THROUGH FRIDAY/... A southwest to northeast oriented mid and upper level ridge axis will be in place from Texas into the southern Great Lakes Sunday night into Monday. This will be in between a tropical system lifting slowly north toward the Gulf Coast States and an upper level low over the Rockies. With subsidence across much of our area and a dry airmass in place, generally expect dry conditions on Monday. The exception may be across our far south, where slightly better moisture and some better instabilities could lead to an isolated afternoon shower or thunderstorm. Highs on Monday will push into the upper 80s to around 90 degrees. The tropical system will continue to lift north across the Gulf States through the day on Tuesday, eventually helping to begin to break down the ridge across our region. This will again bring a chance of an isolated shower or thunderstorms into southern portions of our area through the day on Tuesday. Clouds will also be on the increase through the day, possibly helping to keep down temperatures a tad, with highs mostly in the mid to upper 80s. The tropical remnants will lift north across our area Tuesday night into Wednesday night, although there are some timing differences with this among the models. Will therefore allow for more widespread showers and embedded thunderstorms to overspread our area later Tuesday night, continuing through Wednesday and possibly into Wednesday night. Highs on Wednesday will be in the lower to possibly mid 80s. Late in the week, the models differ on how exactly to phase the tropical remnants into a trough moving across the Great Lakes region. As a result, there is quite a bit of uncertainty in the later periods of the long term forecast. For now, will just linger some chance pops for Thursday into Friday with highs mostly in the mid 80s. && .AVIATION /18Z SATURDAY THROUGH THURSDAY/... Thunderstorm development is increasing as a s/w in the H5 flow is swinging east through Indiana. The upper lift from this system, combined with dewpoints in the mid to upper 60s and the heating of the day is driving this development. Models are suggesting that the best coverage this afternoon will be with the line that in on the Indiana-Ohio border. This line will move through the western tafs in the 18-20Z time frame, and the eastern tafs from 20-22Z. Kept a VCTS behind the line for a few hours with the upper support still in the area. A few convective cells could linger in the south and east in the evening, but the chance is low enough to leave out of the tafs. With the dewpoints staying in the mid 60s overnight, added MVFR fog at all the tafs between 09-13Z. Visibilities should go VFR by 13Z. It looks like the tafs will be dry on Sunday as convection is shunted to the south. Could see a VFR cu ceiling develop in the afternoon. OUTLOOK...Thunderstorms are possible Wednesday into Thursday. && .ILN WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... OH...None. KY...None. IN...None. && SYNOPSIS...Haines/Sites NEAR TERM...Sites SHORT TERM...Haines LONG TERM...JGL AVIATION...Sites
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Wilmington OH 311 AM EDT Sat May 26 2018 INZ050-058-059-066-073>075-080-KYZ089>100-OHZ026-034-035-042>046- 051>056-060>065-070>074-077>082-088-270715- Wayne-Fayette IN-Union IN-Franklin IN-Ripley-Dearborn-Ohio- Switzerland-Carroll-Gallatin-Boone-Kenton-Campbell-Owen-Grant- Pendleton-Bracken-Robertson-Mason-Lewis-Hardin-Mercer-Auglaize-Darke- Shelby-Logan-Union OH-Delaware-Miami-Champaign-Clark-Madison- Franklin OH-Licking-Preble-Montgomery-Greene-Fayette OH-Pickaway- Fairfield-Butler-Warren-Clinton-Ross-Hocking-Hamilton-Clermont-Brown- Highland-Adams-Pike-Scioto- 311 AM EDT Sat May 26 2018 This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for East Central Indiana, Southeast Indiana, Northeast Kentucky, Northern Kentucky, Central Ohio, South Central Ohio, Southwest Ohio and West Central Ohio. .DAY ONE...Today and Tonight. The probability for widespread hazardous weather is low. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday. The probability for widespread hazardous weather is low. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time.
The Cincinnati radar (KILN), 108 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 19:01 UTC.
4 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
A tree was downed across Elliot Hill Road.
A tree fell onto a house.
A tree and some wires were downed across a road.
Several trees were downed in the Loveland area. Some of the trees fell onto power lines.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Ohio in 2018Every state in 2018This day in weather historyWarnings in Ohio, 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: 747008, 747009, 747010, 747011.