Easter Hail Storms: March 27, 2016

Overview	Storm Reports	What Caused this Event?
Radar Images	Pictures	Other Useful Links

Overview

Thunderstorms developed during the late afternoon on Sunday March 27, 2016 east of a line from Logansport, IN to Three Rivers, MI and continued into the evening hours, leading to severe hail.

Below is a map of storm reports across the area. Individual reports are listed below. Do you have damage/hail reports from this event that are not listed below (hail 1" or greater only please)? Send us your report here-we're looking for reports from southern Jay County.

PRELIMINARY LOCAL STORM REPORT...SUMMARY
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
947 PM EDT SUN MAR 27 2016

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

0840 PM     HAIL             MCCLURE                 41.37N 83.94W
03/27/2016  M0.88 INCH       HENRY              OH   TRAINED SPOTTER  

            DIME TO NICKLE SIZED HAIL. 

0838 PM     HAIL             OAKWOOD                 41.10N 84.38W
03/27/2016  E0.88 INCH       PAULDING           OH   TRAINED SPOTTER  



0820 PM     HAIL             HAMLER                  41.23N 84.03W
03/27/2016  M0.88 INCH       HENRY              OH   TRAINED SPOTTER  

            DIME TO NICKLE SIZED HAIL. 

0815 PM     HAIL             HOLGATE                 41.25N 84.13W
03/27/2016  M0.88 INCH       HENRY              OH   FIRE DEPT/RESCUE 



0800 PM     HAIL             BRYAN                   41.47N 84.55W
03/27/2016  M0.50 INCH       WILLIAMS           OH   AMATEUR RADIO    

            0.25-0.50 INCH HAIL. 

0740 PM     HAIL             LATTY                   41.09N 84.58W
03/27/2016  E1.00 INCH       PAULDING           OH   PUBLIC           

            ESTIMATED NICKLE TO QUARTER SIZED HAIL FROM 
            PICTURES. 

0730 PM     HAIL             2 SSE MAPLES            40.98N 84.96W
03/27/2016  M1.00 INCH       ALLEN              IN   PUBLIC           



0730 PM     HAIL             EDGERTON                41.45N 84.75W
03/27/2016  E1.00 INCH       WILLIAMS           OH   PUBLIC           

            PENNY TO QUARTER-SIZED HAIL. 

0715 PM     HAIL             MONROEVILLE             40.97N 84.87W
03/27/2016  M0.75 INCH       ALLEN              IN   TRAINED SPOTTER  

            0.5-0.75 INCH HAIL. 

0715 PM     HAIL             1 E SPENCERVILLE        41.28N 84.90W
03/27/2016  M0.75 INCH       DE KALB            IN   TRAINED SPOTTER  

            0.5 INCH TO 0.75 INCH HAIL.  

0700 PM     HAIL             1 SE MONMOUTH           40.86N 84.93W
03/27/2016  M1.00 INCH       ADAMS              IN   PUBLIC           



0657 PM     HAIL             HOAGLAND                40.95N 84.99W
03/27/2016  M1.00 INCH       ALLEN              IN   TRAINED SPOTTER  

            MULTIPLE REPORTS OF HAIL 0.88 INCH TO 1.0 IN 
            DIAMETER. 

0655 PM     HAIL             HOAGLAND                40.95N 84.99W
03/27/2016  M0.75 INCH       ALLEN              IN   TRAINED SPOTTER  

            0.5 INCH TO 0.75 INCH HAIL 

0654 PM     HAIL             2 SSE WALLEN            41.13N 85.15W
03/27/2016  M0.88 INCH       ALLEN              IN   PUBLIC           



0650 PM     HAIL             2 ESE WALLEN            41.15N 85.14W
03/27/2016  M1.50 INCH       ALLEN              IN   TRAINED SPOTTER  

            MULTIPLE REPORTS OF QUARTER TO PING PONG 
            SIZED HAIL. 

0645 PM     HAIL             2 SE WALLEN             41.14N 85.14W
03/27/2016  M1.00 INCH       ALLEN              IN   TRAINED SPOTTER  

            MULTIPLE REPORTS OF DIME-QUARTER SIZED HAIL. 

0643 PM     HAIL             2 SW TOCSIN             40.80N 85.14W
03/27/2016  M1.00 INCH       WELLS              IN   TRAINED SPOTTER  



0640 PM     HAIL             KINGSLAND               40.83N 85.17W
03/27/2016  M1.25 INCH       WELLS              IN   TRAINED SPOTTER  



0638 PM     HAIL             1 SSE KINGSLAND         40.82N 85.17W
03/27/2016  M1.25 INCH       WELLS              IN   PUBLIC           



0635 PM     HAIL             1 NW BLUFFTON           40.75N 85.18W
03/27/2016  M1.75 INCH       WELLS              IN   TRAINED SPOTTER  



0629 PM     HAIL             3 NE MARKLE             40.86N 85.30W
03/27/2016  E0.50 INCH       WELLS              IN   PUBLIC           

            HAIL UP TO 0.5 INCH IN DIAMETER OR LESS. 

0625 PM     HAIL             1 SSE NINE MILE         40.96N 85.22W
03/27/2016  E0.75 INCH       ALLEN              IN   TRAINED SPOTTER  

            MOSTLY SMALLER THAN PENNY SIZED BUT THE 
            LARGEST WAS ABOUT PENNY SIZED. 

0625 PM     HAIL             1 NNE PEABODY           41.10N 85.48W
03/27/2016  M0.75 INCH       WHITLEY            IN   TRAINED SPOTTER  

            PEA SIZED HAIL. GUST TO 45 MPH MEASURED. 

0623 PM     HAIL             MARION                  40.55N 85.67W
03/27/2016  M0.50 INCH       GRANT              IN   TRAINED SPOTTER  



0620 PM     HAIL             2 NE WARREN             40.70N 85.40W
03/27/2016  M1.00 INCH       HUNTINGTON         IN   FIRE DEPT/RESCUE 



0619 PM     HAIL             1 E MARION              40.55N 85.65W
03/27/2016  M0.88 INCH       GRANT              IN   TRAINED SPOTTER  

            HAIL FROM PEA TO NICKLE SIZED REPORTED. 
            RECEIVED MULTIPLE REPORTS. 

0615 PM     HAIL             2 N MAJENICA            40.79N 85.46W
03/27/2016  U1.50 INCH       HUNTINGTON         IN   TRAINED SPOTTER  

            SIDING DAMAGE, SCREEN DAMAGE AND A BROKEN 
            WINDOW DUE TO HAIL.  

0613 PM     HAIL             WARREN                  40.68N 85.43W
03/27/2016  M1.50 INCH       HUNTINGTON         IN   EMERGENCY MNGR   

            PHOTOS SENT IN FROM WARREN OF PING PONG 
            SIZED HAIL.  

0613 PM     HAIL             1 WSW WARREN            40.68N 85.44W
03/27/2016  E1.50 INCH       HUNTINGTON         IN   EMERGENCY MNGR   

            SIDING AND SCREEN DAMAGE FROM HAIL AT 
            SEVERAL HOUSES ALONG CR 1000 S WEST OF SR 5. 


0609 PM     HAIL             VAN BUREN               40.62N 85.51W
03/27/2016  M0.25 INCH       GRANT              IN   TRAINED SPOTTER  

            PEA SIZED HAIL REPORTED 

0608 PM     HAIL             1 N GAS CITY            40.50N 85.61W
03/27/2016  M0.75 INCH       GRANT              IN   TRAINED SPOTTER  

            PENNY/DIME SIZED HAIL.  

0549 PM     HAIL             1 NE MARION             40.56N 85.66W
03/27/2016  M0.75 INCH       GRANT              IN   TRAINED SPOTTER  

            RECEIVED SEVERAL REPORTS OF PEA TO PENNY 
            SIZED HAIL. HEAVY RAIN ALSO REPORTED.

What Caused This Event?

A low pressure system developed over northeast Illinois/northwest Indiana Sunday afternoon, strengthening as it moved eastward into Ohio through the evening. This system brought just the right conditions for severe weather to develop, mainly east of a line from Logansport, IN to Three Rivers, MI.

Surface Analysis/Radar Loop from 10 am Sunday 3/27/16 through 8 pm Sunday Night

This loop shows the surface low pressure tracking eastward into northern Indiana and northwest Ohio Sunday into Sunday night, coupled with radar images from the event.

Ingredients for severe weather came together perfectly. We had decent instability (CAPE, red lines), wind shear (35-40 knots Bulk Effective Shear), moisture and lift (frontal boundary seen in image above). The CIN (Blue shading, blue dashed lines), or inhibition, is what we call a "CAP." This prevents storms from developing. Eventually we broked the CAP, which is when storms starting developing in central Indiana.

Regional Radar Loop and CAPE, Bulk Effective Shear, and CIN
from Sunday afternoon into Sunday Night (3/27/16).

A regional view of the radar evolution with overlayed CAPE (measure of Instability), CIN (the cap-or inhibition), and Bulk Effective Shear (wind shear makes the storms rotate).

Radar Images

The primary threat with the thunderstorms was large hail. Hail as large as golf ball-sized was reported near Bluffton in Wells county. Several reports of large hail between quarter-sized and ping pong ball-sized were also received. The following radar image is from 606 pm EDT for a storm in Huntington county near Warren, IN. This storm produced ping ball sized hail in Warren, IN at 613 pm EDT. In the image below, radar depicted what is called a Three Body Scatter Spike (TBSS) in the reflectivity data. This signature is a common one on radar for storms producing large hail. In this image, the radar is located north-northeast of this storm. Note the weak reflectivities (the light blues) extending along a radial away from the storm in Warren, IN. As the radar beam encounters the large hail in the storm, part of the energy on the radar beam is reflected back to the radar, but part of the energy is reflected to the surface, before being reflected back upward where it is scattered again by the large hail. The actual TBSS is not depicting the actual hail or rain in the storm, but is an artifact of these multiple reflections of the beam by the large hail.

One of the many ways the new dual pol radar technology helps with is identifying hail. Correlation Coefficient is depicted below for the same storm as above, at the same time. Correlation Coefficient is a measure of how similar the horizontal pulses and vertical pulses sent out by the radar are behaving from pulse to pulse. Lower values indicate particles sampled are different shapes/sizes like hail or debris. Higher values indicate more similar shape amongst the precipitation particles (rain with similar drop sizes, dry/small snow). The TBSS shows up as dark blue, tipping us off to hail. Additionally, where the precipitation core is, you can see yellow values indicating varying drop sizes and large hail. A great reference to dual pol data can be found in the "Other Useful Links" section below.