May 1, 2012 Severe Weather

May 1 Severe Weather

Surface Map valid at 5:00 PM EDT

An area of low pressure moved along a warm front during the afternoon of May 1. The low and front interacted with warm and unstable air to produce numerous thunderstorms across central Indiana. One storm produced a couple of tornadoes, and another produced a brief tornado. Other storms produced large hail and damaging winds.

One storm produced a brief tornado near Cory in Clay County. This EF-0 tornado had a path length of 0.1 mile and was 50 yards wide, touching down at 2:33 PM EDT. Below are plots of the tornado track and radar images of the storm. Click any image to enlarge.



Radar Image of the thunderstorm that produced the tornado near Cory, at the time the tornado touched down. (Image at 2:33 PM EDT)	Storm relative image of the storm at the same time. The radar is located to the upper right of the image. Green indicates motion toward the radar, with red indicating motion away from the radar.

The second tornado producing storm formed in Illinois before traveling into central Indiana. The storm first produced a tornado in central Indiana near the town of Yeddo in Fountain County. The EF-0 rated tornado touched down at 6:57 PM EDT and was on the ground briefly. The tornado's width was 50 yards and the path length was one tenth of a mile. Below are plots of the tornado track and radar images of the storm. Click any image to enlarge.



Radar Image of the thunderstorm that produced the tornado near Yeddo, a few minutes before the tornado touched down. (Image at 6:54 PM EDT)	Storm relative image of the storm at the same time. The radar is located to the lower right of the image. Green indicates motion toward the radar, with red indicating motion away from the radar.

The storm later produced an EF-1 tornado in Montgomery County, near the town of New Ross. The tornado touched down at 7:36 PM EDT and was on the ground for about a minute. Wind speeds for the tornado were 100-110 mph, and the width was 150 yards. The tornado was on the ground for about a half mile. Below are plots of the track path as well as radar images of the storm. Click on any image to enlarge.

Closer view of track patjh - Click to Enlarge


Radar Image of the thunderstorm that produced the tornado, at the time the tornado touched down (7:36 PM EDT).	Storm relative image of the storm at the same time. The radar is located to the lower right of the image. Green indicates motion toward the radar, with red indicating motion away from the radar.

Wider view of the radar at the same time as the touchdown.

Here are some additional radar images from the event. Click any image to enlarge.

Radar Image at 4:07 PM EDT	Radar Image at 5:07 PM EDT
Radar Image at 6:08 PM EDT

Photo courtesy of Greg and Marlene Lighty.

Picture of hail in Veedersburg. Click to enlarge.

Below are reports of severe weather received by the NWS Indianapolis:

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE INDIANAPOLIS IN
1050 PM EDT TUE MAY 01 2012

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

1256 PM     LIGHTNING        AVON                    39.76N  86.38W
05/01/2012                   HENDRICKS          IN   EMERGENCY MNGR

            RESIDENTIAL BUILDING FIRE DUE TO LIGHTNING.

0300 PM     TSTM WND DMG     ELLETTSVILLE            39.23N  86.62W
05/01/2012                   MONROE             IN   LAW ENFORCEMENT

            ISOLATED REPORTS OF TREES DOWN IN THE ELLETTSVILLE AREA

0344 PM     HAIL             NASHVILLE               39.20N  86.24W
05/01/2012  M0.50 INCH       BROWN              IN   AMATEUR RADIO

0347 PM     HAIL             NASHVILLE               39.20N  86.24W
05/01/2012  M1.00 INCH       BROWN              IN   AMATEUR RADIO

0350 PM     HAIL             COLUMBUS                39.21N  85.91W
05/01/2012  E1.00 INCH       BARTHOLOMEW        IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            QUARTER HAIL IN NORTHWEST COLUMBUS ON LOWELL ROAD JUST
            WEST OF US 31.

0353 PM     TSTM WND DMG     TAYLORSVILLE            39.30N  85.95W
05/01/2012                   BARTHOLOMEW        IN   NEWSPAPER

            TREES REPORTED DOWN

0400 PM     TSTM WND GST     5 W GREENWOOD           39.62N  86.21W
05/01/2012  M59 MPH          JOHNSON            IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

0407 PM     HAIL             EDINBURGH               39.35N  85.97W
05/01/2012  M0.25 INCH       JOHNSON            IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

0414 PM     FLASH FLOOD      INDIANAPOLIS            39.78N  86.15W
05/01/2012                   MARION             IN   CO-OP OBSERVER

            STREET FLOODING ALONG KEYSTONE AND KESSLER

0423 PM     HAIL             MILFORD                 39.35N  85.62W
05/01/2012  M1.00 INCH       DECATUR            IN   AMATEUR RADIO

0423 PM     TSTM WND GST     MILFORD                 39.35N  85.62W
05/01/2012  E78 MPH          DECATUR            IN   AMATEUR RADIO

0423 PM     HAIL             GREENWOOD               39.62N  86.11W
05/01/2012  E0.25 INCH       JOHNSON            IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

0427 PM     TSTM WND DMG     GREENSBURG              39.34N  85.48W
05/01/2012                   DECATUR            IN   AMATEUR RADIO

            SEMI TRAILER BLOWN OVER

0427 PM     TSTM WND GST     GREENSBURG              39.34N  85.48W
05/01/2012  E60 MPH          DECATUR            IN   AMATEUR RADIO

0433 PM     HAIL             7 WNW NEW CASTLE        39.96N  85.49W
05/01/2012  E0.25 INCH       HENRY              IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

0437 PM     HAIL             CLARKSBURG              39.43N  85.35W
05/01/2012  M0.50 INCH       DECATUR            IN   PUBLIC

0445 PM     HEAVY RAIN       2 W MIDDLETOWN          40.06N  85.58W
05/01/2012  M1.50 INCH       MADISON            IN   CO-OP OBSERVER

            1.50 INCHES OF RAINFALL MEASURED IN 45 MINUTES.

0448 PM     HEAVY RAIN       1 S CASTLETON           39.89N  86.05W
05/01/2012  M1.57 INCH       MARION             IN   BROADCAST MEDIA

0449 PM     HAIL             SULPHUR SPRINGS         40.01N  85.44W
05/01/2012  M0.50 INCH       HENRY              IN   PUBLIC

0449 PM     TSTM WND GST     SULPHUR SPRINGS         40.01N  85.44W
05/01/2012  E70 MPH          HENRY              IN   PUBLIC

0450 PM     HAIL             3 S PARAGON             39.35N  86.56W
05/01/2012  E0.75 INCH       MORGAN             IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

0455 PM     TSTM WND GST     MODOC                   40.04N  85.13W
05/01/2012  E50 MPH          RANDOLPH           IN   AMATEUR RADIO

0456 PM     TSTM WND GST     STRAUGHN                39.81N  85.29W
05/01/2012  E58 MPH          HENRY              IN   AMATEUR RADIO

0515 PM     HAIL             2 SE BLOOMINGTON        39.15N  86.50W
05/01/2012  M0.50 INCH       MONROE             IN   AMATEUR RADIO

0515 PM     HEAVY RAIN       2 S CASTLETON           39.88N  86.05W
05/01/2012  M1.34 INCH       MARION             IN   CO-OP OBSERVER

            STORM TOTAL...FELL IN APPROXIMATELY 1.5 HOURS.

0525 PM     HAIL             4 NNW BEDFORD           38.91N  86.52W
05/01/2012  E0.88 INCH       LAWRENCE           IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            ACCOMPANIED BY 40 MPH WINDS.

0602 PM     HAIL             3 W CROTHERSVILLE       38.80N  85.90W
05/01/2012  M1.00 INCH       JACKSON            IN   PUBLIC

0628 PM     HEAVY RAIN       GREENSBURG              39.34N  85.48W
05/01/2012  E1.00 INCH       DECATUR            IN   STORM CHASER

0628 PM     TSTM WND GST     GREENSBURG              39.34N  85.48W
05/01/2012  E60 MPH          DECATUR            IN   STORM CHASER

0631 PM     HAIL             5 W COVINGTON           40.14N  87.49W
05/01/2012  E1.00 INCH       WARREN             IN   EMERGENCY MNGR

0641 PM     HAIL             4 S COVINGTON           40.08N  87.39W
05/01/2012  M1.00 INCH       FOUNTAIN           IN   EMERGENCY MNGR

0650 PM     HAIL             CROTHERSVILLE           38.80N  85.84W
05/01/2012  M0.50 INCH       JACKSON            IN   PUBLIC

0650 PM     HAIL             VEEDERSBURG             40.11N  87.26W
05/01/2012  M1.00 INCH       FOUNTAIN           IN   PUBLIC

0655 PM     HAIL             2 N VEEDERSBURG         40.14N  87.26W
05/01/2012  M0.25 INCH       FOUNTAIN           IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

0657 PM     TORNADO          2 E YEDDO               40.01N  87.22W
05/01/2012                   FOUNTAIN           IN   AMATEUR RADIO

0700 PM     HAIL             NORTH SALEM             39.86N  86.64W
05/01/2012  M0.75 INCH       HENDRICKS          IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

0703 PM     HAIL             MONROE CITY             38.61N  87.35W
05/01/2012  E0.88 INCH       KNOX               IN   FIRE DEPT/RESCUE

0707 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     2 NNW ALAMO             40.01N  87.07W
05/01/2012                   MONTGOMERY         IN   PUBLIC

0707 PM     HAIL             MONROE CITY             38.61N  87.35W
05/01/2012  E1.00 INCH       KNOX               IN   AMATEUR RADIO

0708 PM     HAIL             7 S SPENCER             39.19N  86.77W
05/01/2012  M1.00 INCH       OWEN               IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

0713 PM     HAIL             WHEATLAND               38.66N  87.31W
05/01/2012  M1.00 INCH       KNOX               IN   FIRE DEPT/RESCUE

0721 PM     HAIL             1 W DARLINGTON          40.11N  86.80W
05/01/2012  E0.70 INCH       MONTGOMERY         IN   AMATEUR RADIO

0725 PM     HAIL             PLAINFIELD              39.70N  86.39W
05/01/2012  E1.00 INCH       HENDRICKS          IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

0728 PM     WALL CLOUD       3 SE CRAWFORDSVILLE     40.01N  86.86W
05/01/2012                   MONTGOMERY         IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            RAPIDLY ROTATING WALL CLOUD.

0729 PM     HAIL             PLAINFIELD              39.70N  86.39W
05/01/2012  M1.25 INCH       HENDRICKS          IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

0736 PM     TORNADO          5 NE LADOGA             39.97N  86.73W
05/01/2012                   MONTGOMERY         IN   AMATEUR RADIO

            TORNADO MOVING EAST

0737 PM     TORNADO          3 W NEW ROSS            39.96N  86.77W
05/01/2012                   MONTGOMERY         IN   AMATEUR RADIO

            HIT A HOUSE AND DESTROYED A BARN

0745 PM     WALL CLOUD       BLOOMINGTON             39.17N  86.52W
05/01/2012                   MONROE             IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

0745 PM     HAIL             BLOOMINGTON             39.17N  86.52W
05/01/2012  E0.25 INCH       MONROE             IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

0748 PM     HAIL             12 W BLOOMFIELD         39.03N  87.16W
05/01/2012  M0.25 INCH       GREENE             IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

0804 PM     HAIL             UNIONVILLE              39.23N  86.42W
05/01/2012  M1.50 INCH       MONROE             IN   LAW ENFORCEMENT

0811 PM     FLASH FLOOD      GREENFIELD              39.79N  85.77W
05/01/2012                   HANCOCK            IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            HEAVY FLOODING ALONG HWY 9

0811 PM     HAIL             GREENFIELD              39.79N  85.77W
05/01/2012  M0.25 INCH       HANCOCK            IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            HEAVY FLOODING ALONG HWY 9

0814 PM     HAIL             3 W BEANBLOSSOM         39.32N  86.31W
05/01/2012  E0.50 INCH       BROWN              IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

0820 PM     HAIL             NASHVILLE               39.20N  86.24W
05/01/2012  M1.50 INCH       BROWN              IN   AMATEUR RADIO

0822 PM     FUNNEL CLOUD     WHITESTOWN              40.00N  86.35W
05/01/2012                   BOONE              IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

            FUNNEL CLOUD REPORTED BETWEEN WHITESTOWN AND ZIONSVILLE

0906 PM     HAIL             FRANKLIN                39.49N  86.06W
05/01/2012  M0.25 INCH       JOHNSON            IN   TRAINED SPOTTER

0928 PM     HAIL             3 S PARAGON             39.35N  86.56W
05/01/2012  E0.88 INCH       MORGAN             IN   COCORAHS

0930 PM     HAIL             EDINBURGH               39.35N  85.97W
05/01/2012  M0.25 INCH       JOHNSON            IN   FIRE DEPT/RESCUE