Overview
A potent low pressure system generated a line of strong to severe thunderstorms that moved across central Indiana. Storms ahead of the line also become severe. Widespread wind damage along with a few tornadoes occurred. Tens of thousands of people were without power.Tornadoes
Tornado - Near Mecca
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Tornado - West of Loogootee
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Tornado - South of Brownstown
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Tornado - JUST IN CASE PLACEHOLDER
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The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:
EF0 Weak 65-85 mph |
EF1 Moderate 86-110 mph |
EF2 Significant 111-135 mph |
EF3 Severe 136-165 mph |
EF4 Extreme 166-200 mph |
EF5 Catastrophic 200+ mph |
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Radar
Selected Images from the Event. A loop is available.
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Radar at 2:20 AM EDT | Radar at 4:30 AM EDT | Radar at 5:20 AM EDT | Radar at 6:30 AM EDT |
Storm Reports
Preliminary Local Storm Report...Summary National Weather Service Indianapolis IN 1008 PM EDT Sat Mar 15 2025 ..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON... ..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE.... ..REMARKS.. 0214 AM Tornado Mecca 39.73N 87.33W 03/15/2025 Parke IN NWS Storm Survey EF-1 tornado with peak wind of 110 MPH, path length of 2.66 miles, and a max width of 75 yards. Destroyed a small garage. Severely damaged a 150 year old barn. 0216 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg 1 NNE Mecca 39.74N 87.32W 03/15/2025 Parke IN Fire Dept/Rescue Extensive tree damage, barn damage, road shutdown from being impassable. 0217 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg 3 W Rockville 39.77N 87.28W 03/15/2025 Parke IN Amateur Radio reports of tree damage. 0220 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg 3 E Perrysville 40.05N 87.38W 03/15/2025 Fountain IN 911 Call Center Late report of thunderstorm winds downed dozens of trees and poles across Fountain County. Time estimated from radar. 0235 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg Alamo 39.99N 87.06W 03/15/2025 Montgomery IN Public Tree limbs downed on State Road 25. 0240 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg 3 NW Rainsville 40.44N 87.36W 03/15/2025 Warren IN 911 Call Center Late report of thunderstorm winds downed dozens of trees across Warren County. Time estimated from radar. 0254 AM Tstm Wnd Gst 1 SW Purdue University 40.42N 86.93W 03/15/2025 M66 MPH Tippecanoe IN ASOS ASOS station KLAF W. Lafayette - Purdue Univ. Arpt. 0305 AM Tstm Wnd Gst 2 S Cagles Mill Lake 39.44N 86.86W 03/15/2025 M53 MPH Owen IN Public 0315 AM Tstm Wnd Gst 3 WSW Frankfort 40.27N 86.57W 03/15/2025 M60 MPH Clinton IN AWOS AWOS station KFKR Frankfort. 0319 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg 2 NW Farmersburg 39.27N 87.41W 03/15/2025 Vigo IN Public Large tree limb down over IN-246. 0330 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg Carlisle 38.96N 87.40W 03/15/2025 Sullivan IN Public Multiple tree limbs snapped. Relayed via social media. 0339 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg Bicknell 38.77N 87.30W 03/15/2025 Knox IN Emergency Mngr Late report of thunderstorm winds downed an old communication tower onto a cable line to a utility pole at 108 North Cleveland Street. These winds also downed a communication line down over New Jersey Street. Time estimated from radar. 0349 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg 1 ESE Indian Heights 40.42N 86.10W 03/15/2025 Howard IN Public Tree of unknown size downed over road. Time estimated from radar. 0410 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg Fillmore 39.67N 86.75W 03/15/2025 Putnam IN 911 Call Center Late report of thunderstorm winds downed several trees in and to the south of Fillmore. Time estimated from radar. 0415 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg Freedom 39.21N 86.87W 03/15/2025 Owen IN Public Tree snapped. 0419 AM Tornado 3 W Glendale Fishery 38.54N 87.10W 03/15/2025 Daviess IN NWS Storm Survey EF-1 tornado with max wind of 110 MPH, max width of 400 yards, and path length in central Indiana of 13.63 miles. This tornado crossed the East Fork White River into southern Daviess County and skipped northeast. Significant damage to farm outbuildings and grain bins. 0435 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg Loogootee 38.67N 86.91W 03/15/2025 Martin IN Emergency Mngr Trees and power lines downed. Old masonry building leaning towards US231. Possible tornado damage near and west of town. 0437 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg 5 SE Paragon 39.36N 86.49W 03/15/2025 Morgan IN 911 Call Center Late report of thunderstorm winds downed trees along Old Indiana State Route 37 at Brehop Lane. Time estimated from radar. 0454 AM Tstm Wnd Gst 1 SW Indianapolis Int`l 39.72N 86.30W 03/15/2025 M52 MPH Marion IN ASOS ASOS station KIND Indianapolis. 0458 AM Tstm Wnd Gst 3 S Monument Circle 39.72N 86.16W 03/15/2025 E60 MPH Marion IN Public Spotter estimated 60 mph winds. 0500 AM Tstm Wnd Gst 3 WSW Whitehall 39.15N 86.62W 03/15/2025 M64 MPH Monroe IN ASOS ASOS station KBMG Bloomington. 0514 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg 4 ESE Vallonia 38.82N 86.02W 03/15/2025 Jackson IN Public Multiple power poles broken, trees down. Possible home damage. 0515 AM Tornado 5 ESE Vallonia 38.81N 86.02W 03/15/2025 Jackson IN Emergency Mngr EF-1 Tornado with max winds of 105 mph made a roughly 2.2 mile path through far southern Jackson Co, IN, significantly damaging a mobile home. 0516 AM Tstm Wnd Gst 1 W Spurgeons Corner 39.07N 86.16W 03/15/2025 M60 MPH Brown IN Public 0518 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg 5 SE Brownstown 38.82N 85.98W 03/15/2025 Jackson IN Emergency Mngr South and west facing walls of two story barn/house ripped off and blown into neighbors yard. Estimated winds around 80 mph at the apex of a bow echo. This damage occurred right after an EF-1 tornado lifted just to the southwest. 0519 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg 5 SE Brownstown 38.83N 85.98W 03/15/2025 Jackson IN Emergency Mngr Newly built pole barn collapsed. Estimated winds around 80 mph at the apex of a bow echo. This damage occurred right after an EF-1 tornado lifted just to the southwest. 0520 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg 5 NW Crothersville 38.86N 85.90W 03/15/2025 Jackson IN Public Damage to home, tree damage around. 0530 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg 6 E Gnaw Bone 39.19N 86.04W 03/15/2025 Bartholomew IN Emergency Mngr Reports of trees and wires down along the western portion of Bartholomew Co. 0535 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg 2 NE Taylorsville 39.32N 85.91W 03/15/2025 Bartholomew IN Trained Spotter Late report of thunderstorm winds snapped two wooden power poles and a center-pivot sprinkler was overturned in the field north of County Road 800 North near Baseline Road. Time estimated from radar. 0554 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg 3 NNW Waldron 39.50N 85.70W 03/15/2025 Shelby IN Public Late report of thunderstorm winds downed a tree at St. Vincent Catholic Church. Time estimated from radar. 0558 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg Rushville 39.62N 85.45W 03/15/2025 Rush IN Emergency Mngr Reports of trees down in Rushville and entire town without power due to wind damage. 0605 AM Tstm Wnd Dmg 2 N Rushville 39.65N 85.44W 03/15/2025 Rush IN Emergency Mngr *** 3 INJ *** Late report of over 50 locations spread across Rush County with tress or powerlines down with at least two dozen structures damaged. Three people were injured north of Rushville where winds blew over a security trailer. Time estimated from radar. 0249 PM Flood Indiana University 39.17N 86.53W 03/15/2025 Monroe IN Trained Spotter Spotter Reports Flooding on Roadways, impacting Traffic.
Environment
A strong low pressure system brought a line of storms with widespread wind damage and a few tornadoes to central Indiana. The system had very strong winds not far off the ground, which was then brought down in the storms to cause the damage.
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Figure 1: Surface Map at 2:00 AM EDT | Figure 2: CAPE & Shear at 2:00 AM EDT | Figure 3: 925mb Analysis at 2:00 AM EDT |
Additional Information
The Forecast
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SPC Day 6 Outlook | SPC Day 5 Outlook | SPC Day 4 Outlook | |
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SPC Day 3 Categorical Outlook | SPC Day 3 Probabilistic Outlook | SPC Day 2 Categorical Outlook | SPC Day 2 Tornado Probabilistic Outlook |
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SPC Day 1 Categorical Outlook | WFO IND Graphic from March 15 (Uses SPC Day 1 Categorical Outlook) | WFO IND Graphic from March 15 (Uses SPC Day 1 Probabilistic Data) | SPC Day 1 Outlook with Storm Reports from the Event Overlaid |
Summaries from other NWS Offices
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