February 28, 2011 Severe Weather

February 27-28, 2011 Severe Weather

1:00 AM Surface Map
Surface Map for 1:00 AM February 28

A potent storm system moved across central Indiana late on February 27 and early on February 28. Warm and moist air moved into the area with the system, and this allowed thunderstorms to develop. Some of the storms produced damaging winds and heavy rain, and 1 storm produced a tornado.

Tornado:


Overview of Tornado Location - Click to Enlarge	Tornado Path - Click to Enlarge

A small, brief tornado touched down in extreme southern Madison County just west of the town of Ingalls at approximately 12:30 AM EST. The tornado began near county road 1050S, just west of county road 750W, pushing the roof off of a house. From there the tornado continued north, damaging a large barn up the hill north of the flooding Lick Creek. The tornado also destroyed a pole barn, damaged a home, and a 30 foot long trailer along county road 1000S. Further damage to trees occurred across the road from the pole barn before the tornado lifted. Based on the damage to the homes and barns, the tornado produced EF1 intensity damage with maximum winds estimated at just over 100 mph. The tornadoes path was just over a half mile long and around 200 feet wide.

In addition to the tornado damage, downburst straightline wind damage was also observed just south of the tornado touchdown near Woods Drive at State Road 67. Additional downburst straightline wind damage in the form of downed trees, limbs and powerlines occurred further southwest on State Road 67 in Fortville at Motel Road, Industrial Drive and just north and west of the downtown area.

Radar Image at 12:30 AM EST. Click to Enlarge.
A brief radar loop around 12:30 is also available (0.5MB)

Heavy Rain and Flooding:

Northern sections of central Indiana saw 1 to 3 inches of rain, with isolated 4 to 5 inch amounts. This rain, combined with water from a melted snow cover, led to flooding of numerous streams, creeks, and rivers. Flooding also occurred in low lying areas. Some creeks and rivers experienced record flooding.

Map of 24 hour Rainfall ending 7:00 AM February 28. Click to Enlarge.

Plot of River Stage at Ridgeville in Randolph County
River Stage plot for Ridgeville in Randolph County

Plot of River Stage Height for Prairie Creek near Lebanon
Creek Stage plot for Prairie Creek in Boone County

Warm Temperatures:

Temperatures with the system warmed into the 60s across much of the area. Some locations across the south even reached 70 degrees. The highest temperatures occurred during the first few hours past midnight on the 28th, with temperatures then falling through much of the remainder of the day. Below is a graph of the temperature at the Indianapolis International Airport.

2 day plot of temperature at Indianapolis

Damage Reports:

Below is a list of reports received by the National Weather Service. For a graphical plot (experimental), please visit this NWS page.

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
959 AM EST MON FEB 28 2011

..TIME...   ...EVENT...      ...CITY LOCATION...     ...LAT.LON...
..DATE...   ....MAG....      ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
            ..REMARKS..

0922 PM     HAIL             1 N JAMESTOWN           39.94N 86.63W
02/27/2011  E0.25 INCH       BOONE              IN   LAW ENFORCEMENT

0940 PM     HAIL             2 NW THORNTOWN          40.15N 86.64W
02/27/2011  E0.25 INCH       BOONE              IN   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            PEA SIZE HAIL ABOUT HALFWAY BETWEEN COLFAX AND THORNTOWN

1140 PM     HAIL             ROCKVILLE               39.77N 87.23W
02/27/2011  E1.00 INCH       PARKE              IN   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            NICKEL TO QUARTER SIZE HAIL AND GUSTY WINDS

1224 AM     HEAVY RAIN       CASTLETON               39.90N 86.05W
02/28/2011  E1.90 INCH       MARION             IN   BROADCAST MEDIA

            STANDING WATER ALL OVER THE PLACE.

0100 AM     TSTM WND DMG     1 S INGALLS             39.95N 85.80W
02/28/2011                   HANCOCK            IN   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            ROOF BLOWN OFF OF HOUSE.

0120 AM     TSTM WND DMG     1 W INGALLS             39.96N 85.82W
02/28/2011                   MADISON            IN   EMERGENCY MNGR

            POLE BARN DESTROYED. A CAR IN THE BARN WAS MOVED 4O TO 50
            FEET.

0120 AM     TSTM WND DMG     1 W INGALLS             39.96N 85.82W
02/28/2011                   MADISON            IN   EMERGENCY MNGR

            HOUSE DESTROYED AS A COUPLE OF WALLS WERE KNOCKED DOWN.

0130 AM     TSTM WND DMG     KOKOMO                  40.48N 86.13W
02/28/2011                   HOWARD             IN   PUBLIC

            EVERGREENS /40 TO 50 FOOT TALL/ KNOCKED OVER NEAR US 31
            AND STATE ROAD 22.

0305 AM     TSTM WND DMG     4 SSE MUNCIE            40.14N 85.36W
02/28/2011                   DELAWARE           IN   PUBLIC

            POWER LINES DOWN.

0305 AM     HEAVY RAIN       MONTEZUMA               39.79N 87.37W
02/28/2011  E2.60 INCH       PARKE              IN   PUBLIC

0308 AM     HEAVY RAIN       CARMEL                  39.97N 86.11W
02/28/2011  E2.49 INCH       HAMILTON           IN   AMATEUR RADIO

            NEAR 131ST AND HAZEL DELL

0315 AM     TSTM WND GST     3 SW PARAGON            39.36N 86.60W
02/28/2011  M50.00 MPH       MORGAN             IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

0700 AM     HEAVY RAIN       7 SW INDIANAPOLIS       39.70N 86.24W
02/28/2011  M2.28 INCH       MARION             IN   OFFICIAL NWS OBS

            STORM TOTAL

0753 AM     TSTM WND DMG     3 E FISHERS             39.95N 85.97W
02/28/2011                   HAMILTON           IN   PUBLIC

            PART OF ROOF TORN OFF HOUSE. SWING SET BLOWN ACROSS YARD.


0913 AM     HEAVY RAIN       5 NE MUNCIE             40.25N 85.32W
02/28/2011  M5.90 INCH       DELAWARE           IN   LAW ENFORCEMENT