An area of severe thunderstorms moved across northern portions of central Indiana during the early morning hours of May 26th. The storms produced straight-line wind damage.
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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.
An area of severe thunderstorms moved across northern portions of central Indiana during the early morning hours of May 26th. The storms produced straight-line wind damage.
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 26, 1:43 AM EST, 47 minutes earlier.
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Indianapolis IN 243 AM EDT Sun May 26 2019 .UPDATE... The LONG TERM Section has been updated below. && .SYNOPSIS... Issued at 336 PM EDT Sat May 25 2019 An active weather pattern will remain in place with chances for showers and thunderstorms and above normal temperatures for much of the next week. && .NEAR TERM /Overnight/... Issued at 942 PM EDT Sat May 25 2019 Surface analysis this evening shows high pressure in place across the deep south with warm and humid SW flow streaming across Indiana. A cluster of thunderstorms had developed over SE Iowa and NE Missouri. Skies across Central Indiana were continuing to clear as convection related to the heating of the day continued to diminish. 850mb-300mb model thicknesses suggest propagation of the Iowa thunderstorms to reach Central Indiana late overnight. HRRR is also in agreement...pushing showers/storms across the northern parts of the forecast area after 09Z...persisting until nearly 14-15Z. Time heights and forecast soundings suggest ample moisture and lift...thus have trended pops higher overnight than the previous forecast. Also given the expected clouds and rain...trended overnight low at or above the model blends. && .SHORT TERM /Sunday through Monday Night/... Issued at 336 PM EDT Sat May 25 2019 Forecast focus is on timing for rain and storms for the remainder of the holiday weekend. Unfortunately models are still not in good agreement on timing of QPF over the area, so medium confidence is going to be the best this forecaster can offer. That said, for those with outdoor plans contingent on dry weather, here it goes. An upper wave moving through during the late overnight/early morning hours will have rain ongoing across much of northern and central Indiana as Sunday morning begins. Expect this first wave to move off to the east and allow for a few dry hours, starting late morning (9-11 am) and ending in the early afternoon (1-3 pm), depending on your location. In the hourly forecast, show this in the form of PoPs of 20-30 percent during the "most likely to be dry" hours. The potential problems with this timing is where the front sets up. Fairly confident on the timing of the upper waves (early morning, then arriving early to mid afternoon), but not confident on the exact location of the front. This could again serve as a focusing mechanism for convection and increase severe potential, and it could legitimately set up anywhere in Indiana depending on what happens with the first wave of convection in the early morning. Sunday night the upper wave will move out and convection will end, bu the front possibly moving north through the area during the day on Monday could prompt some showers and storms for the holiday. Those chances are lower at this time due to uncertainty regarding the frontal position, but the upper forcing looks far less impressive than Sunday afternoon. All of these waves over the same general area raises the concern for flooding, and will have to monitor this closely going forward. At this time not expecting a widespread threat, so will forgo any flood headlines. High tempertures Sunday will be highly dependent on cloud cover and the aforementioned precipitation that develops. Went toward the middle of guidance in the lower to mid 80s, with high humidity as well. Monday should be a few degrees warmer. && .LONG TERM /Wednesday through Sunday/... Issued at 243 AM EDT Sun May 26 2019 The unsettled weather pattern will continue through much of the period as a stagnant frontal boundary remains across the Ohio Valley. Storm chances will continue Wednesday and Thursday with the front in the region and surface waves rippling along the boundary. Presence of a stronger wave passing through on Thursday warrants higher pops as convective coverage likely to be more widespread. Extended guidance is hinting at a potential respite from the chances for rain and storms by Friday and Friday night as the boundary finally shifts south far enough to enable high pressure over the Great Lakes to take hold. Any dry period would likely be brief however as yet another frontal boundary swings into the forecast area from the Great Lakes to bring a renewed threat for rain and storms for much of next weekend. With the upper level flow flattening and becoming more zonal through much of the period...high temperatures will pull back into a range from the mid 70s to the lower 80s for late week into next weekend. && .AVIATION /Discussion for the 260600 Tafs/... Issued at 1142 PM EDT Sat May 25 2019 Mainly VFR conditions will be expected this taf period in between periods of showers and thunderstorms. VFR conditions are expected to continue the next few hours. SHRA and TSRA are expected in the area after 09Z-10Z. Brief MVFR to IFR conditions will be possible with any thunderstorm. Showers and Storms over Central Illinois are expected to propagate to central Indiana after 09Z. Models then suggest this short wave will depart the area near 12Z before another short wave arrives after 15Z. Ample moisture and forcing appear present. Thus will trend toward VFR conditions with prevailing SHRA/vcts after 20Z- 21Z. Again...any shower or storm that strikes a taf site may result in brief IFR conditions. Sundays short wave should depart by 22Z-24Z...and a return to VFR will be expected within the wake of the any storms overnight. && .IND WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES...NONE. && SYNOPSIS...CP NEAR TERM...Puma SHORT TERM...CP LONG TERM....Ryan AVIATION...JP
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Indianapolis IN 515 PM EDT Sat May 25 2019 INZ021-028>031-035>049-051>057-060>065-067>072-262115- 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 Delphi, Flora, Williamsport, West Lebanon, Lafayette, West Lafayette, Frankfort, Kokomo, Attica, Covington, Veedersburg, Crawfordsville, Lebanon, Zionsville, Tipton, Fishers, Carmel, Noblesville, Anderson, Muncie, Winchester, Clinton, Newport, Rockville, Greencastle, Plainfield, Brownsburg, Danville, Indianapolis, Greenfield, Cumberland, New Castle, Terre Haute, Brazil, Clay City, Spencer, Martinsville, Mooresville, Greenwood, Franklin, Shelbyville, Rushville, Sullivan, Linton, Bloomfield, Bloomington, Nashville, Columbus, Greensburg, Vincennes, Washington, Loogootee, Shoals, Bedford, Mitchell, Seymour, Brownstown, and North Vernon 515 PM EDT Sat May 25 2019 This hazardous weather outlook is for central Indiana. .DAY ONE...Tonight. Outlook: Thunderstorms are possible at times tonight. An isolated strong to severe storm is possible. Warm and humid conditions will continue. Hazards: Gusty winds, torrential rain and lightning. Heat index values near 90 across areas mainly along and south of Interstate 70 this evening. Timing: Highest chances for thunderstorms will be through 8 pm and again overnight after 2 am. Warm conditions will continue through sunset. Discussion: An upper level system will keep chances for showers and thunderstorms around this evening, and another wave will bring more chances later overnight. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Sunday through Friday. Outlook: Thunderstorms will be possible at times Sunday, Memorial Day, and Tuesday night through Thursday. Some of the storms could be strong to severe at times, especially on Sunday. Heavy rain may occur that could lead to flooding. Discussion: A frontal boundary will meander across the region over the next several days. This will provide a focus for periodic threats for strong to possibly severe thunderstorms, and heavy rainfall over the same areas could lead to flooding. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation may be needed on Sunday. && More information, along with other weather, hydrological and climate information can be found at http://weather.gov/ind CP
The Indianapolis radar (KIND), 95 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 07:32 UTC.
12 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.
Trees and utility lines were blown down due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts. Scattered reports came in from around the county of this type of damage.
Siding and roof shingles were ripped off buildings at Crosswinds Apartments due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts.
A tree was blown down on Monitor Mill Drive due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts.
Multiple tree limbs and utility lines were downed due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts.
Trees and utility lines were blown down on Howell Street due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts.
Trees and utility lines were blown down with debris everywhere due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts.
A 58 mph thunderstorm wind gust was measured by the ASOS station at KLAF West Lafayette - Purdue University Airport.
A patio door was blown into a family room of a home due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts. Trees and utility lines were blown down as well. A swing set was overturned.
An estimated 60 mph thunderstorm wind gust was observed in this location. There were multiple reports of trees and power lines down across Kokomo and Howard County due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts. Some trees were down on vehicles.
A 66 mph thunderstorm wind gust was measured by the AWOS station KOKK in Kokomo.
A 58 mph thunderstorm wind gust was measured by the ASOS station KMIE in Muncie.
A large and healthy tree had fallen on a car in the 300 block of East Thompson Street due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Indiana in 2019Every state in 2019This day in weather historyWarnings in Indiana, May 2019
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: 832475, 832477, 832478, 832479, 832480, 832481, 832057, 832482, 832060, 832063, 832066, 832484.