Overview
Strong thunderstorms brought severe wind small hail and heavy rain to Northern Indiana and Southern Michigan:Wind & Hail:
Below is a plot of severe weather reports from this event. Most of the reports were severe wind gusts or wind damage. Some reports of hail were received, but the hail was mainly sub-severe. Most of the reports of wind damage came from St. Joseph and Elkhart counties in northern Indiana.
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| Severe Storm Reports |
Wind
A severe thunderstorm produced straight-line wind damage as it tracked along the Indiana-Michigan state line. Just before 8 PM EDT, the ASOS at South Bend International Airport record a wind gusts of 71 MPH. Later that evening, near 9 PM EDT, a 72 MPH wind gust was recorded at the Coldwater, MI, ASOS. Wind damage was also reported in La Porte County from a separate thunderstorm.
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| ABC57 Meteorologist Tom Coomes shared this picture of a tree down on a home in Mishawaka. Relayed Via Twitter. | Tree blown over in Sturgis, MI. Relayed via Twitter from Thad. | ABC57 Multimedia Journalist Hayley Fixler shows the aftermath of a large tree down in the Simonton Lake neighborhood. | Shelf cloud shared by Tom Coomes from the Osceola, IN area. |
Flooding
Some areal flooding was reported Wednesday night due to the very heavy rainfall at some locations. The runoff from the heavy rain also led some minor river flooding. Below are the hydrographs from Newville and Stryker showing the rising water levels.
Hydrographs
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| Hydrograph from Newville St. Joseph River Ohio indicating minor river flooding due to the heavy rainfall Wednesday night. | Hydrograph from Stryker Tiffin RIver indicating minor river flooding due to the heavy rainfall Wednesday night. |
Storm Total Rainfall
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| Storm total rainfall for May 2nd to May 3rd |
Radar
This is a radar loop of the event.
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| WSR-88D loop of event |
Storm Reports
PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
604 AM EDT THU MAY 3 2018
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0948 PM TSTM WND DMG 5 SSE JEROME 41.97N 84.42W
05/02/2018 HILLSDALE MI TRAINED SPOTTER
LARGE TREE DOWN ON WALDRON ROAD.
0932 PM TSTM WND GST 1 NE MOSCOW 42.06N 84.50W
05/02/2018 E65 MPH HILLSDALE MI TRAINED SPOTTER
0929 PM TSTM WND DMG COLDWATER 41.94N 85.01W
05/02/2018 BRANCH MI EMERGENCY MNGR
APPX 14-INCH LIMB FROM TREE FELL ACROSS
ROAD, POWER OUTAGE ON CHURCH ST AT DAUGHERTY
ST, 2107 HRS.
0925 PM HAIL BRIDGMAN 41.94N 86.56W
05/02/2018 M0.50 INCH BERRIEN MI PUBLIC
VIA TWITTER.
0922 PM TSTM WND GST COLDWATER 41.94N 85.00W
05/02/2018 M72 MPH BRANCH MI ASOS
0908 PM LIGHTNING STURGIS 41.80N 85.42W
05/02/2018 ST. JOSEPH MI AMATEUR RADIO
LOTS OF STRUCTURE FIRES DUE TO LIGHTNING
STRIKES.
0900 PM TSTM WND DMG UNION 41.79N 85.87W
05/02/2018 CASS MI PUBLIC
ROOF DAMAGE ON GARAGE.
0847 PM TSTM WND DMG CONSTANTINE 41.84N 85.67W
05/02/2018 ST. JOSEPH MI AMATEUR RADIO
POWER POLES DOWN.
0836 PM TSTM WND DMG SIMONTON LAKE 41.75N 85.97W
05/02/2018 ELKHART IN BROADCAST MEDIA
DOWNED TREES AND FENCES.
0831 PM TSTM WND DMG OSCEOLA 41.67N 86.08W
05/02/2018 ST. JOSEPH IN PUBLIC
SEVERAL TREES AND BRANCHES DOWN.
0830 PM TSTM WND DMG 2 SSE SIMONTON LAKE 41.72N 85.95W
05/02/2018 ELKHART IN BROADCAST MEDIA
LIMBS AND TREES DOWN.
0830 PM TSTM WND DMG 1 WSW OSCEOLA 41.66N 86.10W
05/02/2018 ST. JOSEPH IN BROADCAST MEDIA
SEVERAL POWER POLES DOWN NEAR MARTINS.
0828 PM TSTM WND DMG MOTTVILLE 41.80N 85.76W
05/02/2018 ST. JOSEPH MI AMATEUR RADIO
POWER POLES DOWN.
0823 PM TSTM WND DMG MISHAWAKA 41.67N 86.17W
05/02/2018 ST. JOSEPH IN LAW ENFORCEMENT
POWER LINES DOWN IN THE CITY.
0820 PM TSTM WND DMG BRISTOL 41.72N 85.82W
05/02/2018 ELKHART IN PUBLIC
NUMEROUS TREES LIMBS SNAPPED.
0815 PM TSTM WND GST ELKHART 41.69N 85.97W
05/02/2018 E60 MPH ELKHART IN PUBLIC
DIME SIZED HAIL AS WELL.
0810 PM TSTM WND DMG 2 N SAN PIERRE 41.23N 86.89W
05/02/2018 STARKE IN PUBLIC
10-15" DIAMETER TREES DOWNED.
0810 PM TSTM WND DMG 1 WNW LOMAX 41.26N 86.89W
05/02/2018 LA PORTE IN PUBLIC
TREE DOWN ONTO ROADWAY.
0800 PM TSTM WND DMG SOUTH BEND 41.68N 86.26W
05/02/2018 ST. JOSEPH IN TRAINED SPOTTER
TREES UPROOTED, LARGE BRANCHES SNAPPED.
0757 PM TSTM WND GST 2 SW KNOX 41.27N 86.65W
05/02/2018 E56 MPH STARKE IN PUBLIC
NO HAIL WITH STORM VIA TWITTER.
0756 PM TSTM WND GST SOUTH BEND INTERNATIONA 41.71N 86.32W
05/02/2018 M71 MPH ST. JOSEPH IN ASOS
ASOS STATION SBN, SOUTH BEND INTERNATIONAL
AP.
0517 PM HAIL 3 NNW WOOSTER 41.24N 85.77W
05/02/2018 E0.75 INCH KOSCIUSKO IN TRAINED SPOTTER
HAIL LASTED FOR 3 MINUTES.
Rain Reports
Public Information Statement National Weather Service Northern Indiana 1007 AM EDT Thu May 3 2018 ...24 HR RAINFALL REPORTS... Location Amount Time/Date Provider ...Indiana... ...De Kalb County... Butler 1se 2.00 in 0805 AM 05/03 COOP ...Elkhart County... Middlebury 2.6 WSW 3.11 in 0700 AM 05/03 COCORAHS 2 NE Goshen 3.02 in 0700 AM 05/03 COCORAHS 1 NNE Dunlap 2.83 in 0700 AM 05/03 COCORAHS 2 WSW Middlebury 2.61 in 0700 AM 05/03 COCORAHS 1 WNW Jimtown 2.46 in 0943 AM 05/03 CWOP 1 WSW Goshen 2.38 in 0655 AM 05/03 COCORAHS 1 WNW Jimtown 2.24 in 0530 AM 05/03 COCORAHS 2 NNE Wakarusa 2.21 in 0700 AM 05/03 COCORAHS 1 ENE Elkhart 2.20 in 0945 AM 05/03 CWOP 2 WSW Goshen 2.18 in 0700 AM 05/03 COCORAHS 1 N Waterford Mills 1.90 in 0500 AM 05/03 COCORAHS Syracuse 3.3 NNE 1.69 in 0800 AM 05/03 COCORAHS Millersburg 1.55 in 0900 AM 05/03 COCORAHS ...Kosciusko County... 1 NNW Warsaw 2.08 in 0851 AM 05/03 COCORAHS James Lake 2.01 in 0700 AM 05/03 COCORAHS James Lake 1.92 in 0953 AM 05/03 CWOP Lake Wawasee 1.88 in 0800 AM 05/03 COCORAHS 2 SW Warsaw 1.86 in 0932 AM 05/03 CWOP Warsaw 5sw 1.70 in 0646 AM 05/03 COOP 1 N Warsaw 1.70 in 0600 AM 05/03 COCORAHS Syracuse 1.67 in 0700 AM 05/03 COCORAHS 1 E Winona Lake 1.55 in 0700 AM 05/03 COCORAHS North Webster 1.51 in 0430 AM 05/03 COCORAHS ...La Porte County... 1 W Michigan City 2.12 in 0940 AM 05/03 AWS (ka9wnq)la Porte 1.7 SW 1.93 in 0700 AM 05/03 COCORAHS 1 E Waterford 1.60 in 0800 AM 05/03 COCORAHS 1 SW La Porte 1.59 in 0800 AM 05/03 COCORAHS ...Lagrange County... 1 S Plato 2.49 in 0730 AM 05/03 COCORAHS 2 WNW Elmira 2.19 in 0700 AM 05/03 COCORAHS 2 E Brushy Prairie 2.11 in 0715 AM 05/03 COCORAHS ...Marshall County... Culver 3.47 in 0700 AM 05/03 COCORAHS ...Noble County... Ligonier 2.56 in 0939 AM 05/03 AWS 3 NE Avilla 2.25 in 0933 AM 05/03 CWOP 2 E Rome City 1.97 in 0700 AM 05/03 COCORAHS 3 N Kendallville 1.79 in 0616 AM 05/03 COCORAHS 1 E Big Lake 1.69 in 0938 AM 05/03 CWOP 2 E Albion 1.52 in 0800 AM 05/03 COCORAHS ...St. Joseph County... 1 NW South Bend 4.28 in 0939 AM 05/03 AWS Gulivoire Park 3.60 in 0945 AM 05/03 CWOP 2 ESE Mishawaka 3.28 in 0931 AM 05/03 CWOP 1 ENE Gulivoire Park 3.07 in 0730 AM 05/03 COCORAHS 1 E Indian Village 3.03 in 0700 AM 05/03 COCORAHS 1 ENE Gulivoire Park 3.01 in 0700 AM 05/03 COCORAHS 1 E Mishawaka 3.00 in 0708 AM 05/03 COCORAHS South Bend International Ap 2.52 in 0754 AM 05/03 ASOS South Bend Wwtp 2.30 in 0700 AM 05/03 COOP 1 ENE Granger 2.20 in 0700 AM 05/03 COCORAHS 1 NW Osceola 2.02 in 0610 AM 05/03 COCORAHS 2 S New Carlisle 1.81 in 0936 AM 05/03 CWOP 2 N Teegarden 1.75 in 0700 AM 05/03 COCORAHS ...Starke County... North Judson 2.08 in 0753 AM 05/03 COCORAHS ...Steuben County... 1 W Golden Lake 2.59 in 0800 AM 05/03 COCORAHS Pleasant Lake 2.48 in 0940 AM 05/03 AWS 1 E Hamilton 2.41 in 0700 AM 05/03 COCORAHS Metz 2.33 in 0700 AM 05/03 COCORAHS 1 SE Crooked Lake 2.30 in 0933 AM 05/03 CWOP 2 WSW Golden Lake 2.29 in 0600 AM 05/03 COCORAHS 2 W Silver Lake 2.23 in 0915 AM 05/03 HADS Angola 2.20 in 0700 AM 05/03 COOP 1 WNW Angola 2.18 in 0700 AM 05/03 COCORAHS 1 S Angola 2.10 in 0600 AM 05/03 COCORAHS Hudson 1.78 in 0650 AM 05/03 COCORAHS ...Michigan... ...Berrien County... 1 SE Stevensville 3.30 in 0700 AM 05/03 COCORAHS Benton Harbor 2.90 in 0852 AM 05/03 Trained Spotter 2 E Shoreham 2.56 in 0940 AM 05/03 CWOP 2 W Niles 1.80 in 0800 AM 05/03 COCORAHS ...Branch County... 3 SE Colon 1.99 in 0700 AM 05/03 COCORAHS Coldwater 1.89 in 0816 AM 05/03 Public ...Cass County... Dowagiac 1w 3.65 in 0800 AM 05/03 COOP Barron Lake 2.17 in 0900 AM 05/03 COCORAHS ...Hillsdale County... 1 SSE Montgomery 2.06 in 0800 AM 05/03 COCORAHS 3 NW North Adams 1.61 in 0715 AM 05/03 COCORAHS Jerome 1.51 in 0950 AM 05/03 CWOP ...St. Joseph County... 1 SW Sturgis 4.20 in 0901 AM 05/03 Trained Spotter Sturgis 3.40 in 0755 AM 05/03 AWOS Constantine 2.85 in 0815 AM 05/03 Public ...Ohio... ...Defiance County... Defiance 9.4 NE 2.08 in 0600 AM 05/03 COCORAHS Defiance Memorial Airport 1.50 in 0759 AM 05/03 ASOS ...Fulton County... Wauseon 2.80 in 0730 AM 05/03 Public 1 NE Tedrow 2.41 in 0936 AM 05/03 CWOP ...Henry County... Gallup 2.53 in 0700 AM 05/03 COCORAHS Napoleon 2.09 in 0800 AM 05/03 COCORAHS ...Williams County... West Unity 2.44 in 0939 AM 05/03 AWS 2 S Pioneer 2.35 in 0630 AM 05/03 COCORAHS Bryan 2se 2.32 in 0800 AM 05/03 COOP Alvordton 2.22 in 0700 AM 05/03 COCORAHS 1 WSW Bryan 1.82 in 0930 AM 05/03 CWOP Observations are collected from a variety of sources with varying equipment and exposures. We thank all volunteer weather observers for their dedication. Not all data listed are considered official.
Environment
Moisture plume advecting into the region leading to modest amount of mixed layer CAPE. Dry air beneath the cloud base afforded large amount of Downdraft CAPE, on the order of 1000 j/kg. Moderate deep layer effective shear on the order of 30 to 40 knots led to organized storm development with isolated, significant damaging wind events across northern Indiana and southern Lower Michigan.
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| Figure 1: A strong low level jet stream and high moisture content streaming in as indicated by the 850 mb moisture advection map. (7PM on May 2nd) | Figure 2: Ample instability for storms to work with across the region as indicated by the Mixed layer CAPE/MLCIN map. (7PM on May 2nd) | Figure 3: Ample instability to be utilized for strong straight line wind damage as indicated by the Downdraft CAPE map. (7PM on May 2nd) |
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| Figure 4: Strong enough shear around for severe thunderstorms as indicated by the Effective Layer Shear map. (11PM on May 2nd) | Figure 5: Ample moisture around as indicated by high Precipitable water (PWATs) values. 1.4" and 1.5" values are in the higher end of the climatology for this time of year, which likely contributed to the rainfall totals across the area. (7PM on May 2nd) | Figure 6: Another way to visualize instability is through the use of low level lapse rates. Using this measure of temperature difference between the surface and 3km up, we see that air parcels are able to rise fairly quickly helping to contribute to strong thunderstorms. (7PM on May 2nd) |
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