A low pressure system traversed the Northern Plains into the Great Lakes region pushing a warm front into Michigan allowing a cold front to sweep through the area. With the warm sector overhead, this allowed for optimal moisture.
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 IWX wrote it up.
A low pressure system traversed the Northern Plains into the Great Lakes region pushing a warm front into Michigan allowing a cold front to sweep through the area. With the warm sector overhead, this allowed for optimal moisture. Storms developed across parts of the area, with a few producing damaging winds and large hail.
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 Northern Indiana wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Apr 17, 8:52 AM EST, 56 minutes earlier. Its key messages:
Area Forecast Discussion National Weather Service Northern Indiana 952 AM EDT Wed Apr 17 2024 .KEY MESSAGES... - Isolated storms may redevelop this afternoon with large hail and damaging winds possible east of I-69. - Showers and thunderstorms Thursday night. - Cool and dry this weekend with highs mostly in the 50s and lows in the 30s. Frost possible. && .UPDATE... Issued at 951 AM EDT Wed Apr 17 2024 Some destablization continues across western Indiana in advance of the approaching front. SBCAPE of around 1000 J/KG is in place already in an uncapped environment. Showers and storms have been slowly expanding in northwestern Indiana and should continue to do so over the next several hours. While higher confidence in severe weather still remains along and east of I-69 we will need to watch storms west of I-69 given a lack of mixing out of the 60 dewpoints that was suggested. && .DISCUSSION... Issued at 333 AM EDT Wed Apr 17 2024 A pair of upper level systems will bring 2 rounds of showers and scattered storms to the area today. The initial round was ongoing in an zone of isentropic lift per 305K GFS surface moving across northern Indiana and far southern Lower Michigan at this time. SPC mesoanalysis indicated virtually no instability. South Bend picked up a quick >0.10" in less then 1 hour. Given the lack of shear and no instability, do not expect any severe weather from these showers and storms. However, the 2nd upper level system approaching from the west will be accompanied by an occluding front. Several parameters support the chance for severe weather, especially large hail and damaging winds east of I-69. Bulk shear (0-6km) was already > 70kts from St Louis to Chicago per SPC mesoanalysis. Made some major updates to lower shower/storm coverage per HRRR. The latest HRRR favors VERY limited storm coverage today. Otherwise, one last system will move across the area Thursday night before cooler air and drier weather arrives for the weekend. Severe storms should stay southwest and south of the area given the surface low track. Rainfall amounts should be up to half an inch and should not have major impacts on renewal of recent flooding. At this time, frost is likely Saturday night and Sunday night. The best chances for freezing temperatures are near and north of the Michigan border. && .AVIATION /12Z TAFS THROUGH 12Z THURSDAY/... Issued at 605 AM EDT Wed Apr 17 2024 Cutoff occlusion over sw MN will wobble east through the nrn lakes today as downstream warm sector pinches off in time. Decaying/residual low level moisture plume spreading into wrn zones attm and supporting brief MVFR cigs near term. Any renewed shower/storm development ahead of weakening sfc cold front will be isolated/brief at best from late morning (west) into mid aftn (east) as successive guidance continues to down trend. Primary aviation issue remains with strong gradient srly gusts this morning veering to wrly this aftn with gusts to 35kts likely. && .IWX WATCHES/WARNINGS/ADVISORIES... IN...None. OH...None. MI...None. MARINE...Small Craft Advisory until 5 AM EDT Thursday for LMZ043-046. && UPDATE...Fisher DISCUSSION...Skipper AVIATION...T
Hazardous Weather Outlook National Weather Service Northern Indiana 448 AM EDT Wed Apr 17 2024 INZ005>009-012>015-017-018-020-022>027-032>034-103-104-116-203-204- 216-MIZ078>081-177-277-OHZ001-002-004-005-015-016-024-025-180900- Elkhart-Lagrange-Steuben-Noble-De Kalb-Starke-Pulaski-Marshall- Fulton IN-Whitley-Allen IN-White-Cass IN-Miami-Wabash-Huntington- Wells-Adams-Grant-Blackford-Jay-Northern La Porte- Eastern St. Joseph IN-Northern Kosciusko-Southern La Porte- Western St. Joseph IN-Southern Kosciusko-Cass MI-St. Joseph MI- Branch-Hillsdale-Northern Berrien-Southern Berrien-Williams- Fulton OH-Defiance-Henry-Paulding-Putnam-Van Wert-Allen OH- 448 AM EDT Wed Apr 17 2024 /348 AM CDT Wed Apr 17 2024/ This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for northern Indiana, southwest Michigan and northwest Ohio. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. Isolated thunderstorms this afternoon may be strong to severe with a threat of hail and damaging winds mainly east of I-69. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday. Isolated strong to severe thunderstorms with large hail are possible south of Highway 30 Thursday night. .SPOTTER INFORMATION STATEMENT... Spotter activation is not expected at this time. LMZ043-046-180900- New Buffalo MI to St Joseph MI-Michigan City IN to New Buffalo MI- 448 AM EDT Wed Apr 17 2024 ...SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 5 AM EDT THURSDAY... This Hazardous Weather Outlook is for the nearshore waters of southeastern Lake Michigan. .DAY ONE...Today and tonight. Please listen to NOAA Weather Radio or go to weather.gov on the Internet for more information about the following hazards. Small Craft Advisory. .DAYS TWO THROUGH SEVEN...Thursday through Tuesday. No hazardous weather is expected at this time.
The Northern Indiana radar (KIWX), 55 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the first event began at 14:48 UTC.
4 thunderstorm wind, 2 hail. Local standard time, as filed.
The public reported a one foot diameter tree limb was blown down. Several smaller limbs were also blown down. A anchored pool was blown into a nearby fence.
The public submitted several pictures and reports of hail up to at least the size of quarters in and around Hartford City.
Emergency management surveyed damage at a residence in the 6000 block of N SR 1. A large area of shingles was blown off the west facing side of a home and dropped on the northeast side of the home. An older hog barn suffered extensive roof damage.
Several large tree branches were blown down.
A trained spotter reported one pole down and another damaged, as well as a couple large tree limbs down.
After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.
Every storm in Indiana in 2024Every state in 2024This day in weather historyWarnings in Indiana, April 2024
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: 1167169, 1167167, 1167168, 1167170, 1167172, 1167171.