Indiana, 2020

Frost and Freeze in Indiana, May 9, 2020

May 9, 2020 · NWS IND · 2 events in 2 counties and zones

During the overnight hours of May 8th going into May 9th, a widespread hard freeze occurred across much of Indiana. Temperatures ranged from the low 30s in southern Indiana to the mid 20s in central Indiana and low 20s in northern Indiana.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it; 2 filed by county or forecast zone are drawn at its center, in a lighter ring. Tap one for its entry below.

  • Tornadoes
  • Tropical storms and surge
  • Floods
  • Wind
  • Hail
  • Winter weather
  • Heat and drought
  • Cold
  • Fire, smoke and dust
  • Marine and coastal
  • Other

Open the live radar over this ground

The toll

Deaths
0
Injuries
0
Property damage
None recorded
Crop damage
$1.1 million
Events
2

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.

What happened

The episode as NWS IND wrote it up.

During the overnight hours of May 8th going into May 9th, a widespread hard freeze occurred across much of Indiana. Temperatures ranged from the low 30s in southern Indiana to the mid 20s in central Indiana and low 20s in northern Indiana. This freeze caused widespread damage to fruit and fruit trees from central Indiana and northern Indiana with lesser impacts in southern Indiana. Row crops like corn and soybeans were damaged and some needed to be replanted in north central Indiana with soybeans being the most impacted. At this time, there remains to be significant uncertainty on the extent of the damage and what the financial costs will end up being.

The radar

The national radar mosaic for the moment the first event began.

Open the radar archive at this moment

Event by event

2 frost/freeze. Local standard time, as filed.

Frost/Freeze, Tipton

When
May 9, 12:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where
Tipton forecast zone
Crop damage
$1.0 million
Reported by
State Official
Coordinates
40.311, -86.052 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

An official with Purdue Agriculutural extension in Tipton county reported damage to row crops of soybean and corn in Tipton county. Impacts to corn were relatively minor with more serious effects to soybeans. Some needed to be replanted. Strawberries and fruit trees were hit hard, but monetary amounts of damage are still uncertain at this time.

Frost/Freeze, Knox

When
May 9, 12:00 AM EST to 9:00 AM EST
Where
Knox forecast zone
Crop damage
$100,000
Reported by
State Official
Coordinates
38.689, -87.418 (the zone’s center; the record gives no point)

An official with Purdue Agriculture Extension reported minor damage to crops in Knox county as well as the rest of southwestern Indiana. Impacts were relatively minor for farmed crops with more serious impacts to fruit and garden crops. Exact numbers for damage costs remain unknown at this time.

What these are

Frost/Freeze
Frost or temperatures at or below freezing during the growing season, usually filed for crop damage.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

More

Every storm in Indiana in 2020Every state in 2020This day in weather historyWarnings in Indiana, May 2020

Sources

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: 883848, 883849.