May 25, 2011 Tornado Outbreak - One Year Later

Today is one year since the May 25, 2011 tornado outbreak.  This outbreak is a notable one in state history.  In terms of tornado count, it is our second largest May tornado outbreak on record, only trailing the May 30, 2004 event (23 tornadoes).  Below is a map of tornado tracks.

May 21, 1949 Killer Tornadoes

As part of a large tornado outbreak sequence across the U.S., three significant tornadoes struck portions of central Indiana on May 21, 1949.  A short summary of each tornado is provided below.

Tornado #1 initially touched down southwest of Palestine, Illinois, and moved northeast through that town.  All four deaths and most of the damage (peaking at F4 intensity) occurred in Illinois before the tornado moved into Sullivan county.

Tornado #2 touched down south of Cox Field on the east side of Terre Haute.  The tornado damaged several houses on a NNE trek from Terre Haute to southwest of Burnett.  Three deaths occurred and about ten people were injured.

Tornado #3 proved to be the worst tornado of the group.  This tornado touched down near Graysville and moved through Shelburn, devastating part of that town.  The tornado continued northeast, passing south of Bowling Green and ending north of Jordan in Owen county.  Farms were destroyed at several points along the path.  The worst damage occurred in the northwest part of Shelburn, where many homes were damaged/destroyed and thirteen people died.  In all, this F4 tornado killed fourteen people on a path that may have exceeded 40 miles.  Hundreds of animals were also killed. 


Source:

Thomas P. Grazulis, Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991 (Environmental Films, 1993).

May Tornadoes By F/EF Scale Rating

1950-2010

May 14, 1972 Indianapolis Area Tornado

Today marks the 40th anniversary of one of the most powerful tornadoes to strike the Indianapolis area since records began.  The tornado had a non-continuous damage path of 29 miles and first touched down on the east side of Indianapolis in the 9700 block of East Washington Street.  The tornado was seen by a number of people and pictures were taken showing another funnel cloud.  At the Drake Terrace Apartments, a second floor wall was blown down.  In the 1100 block of North German Church Road, three steel high tension towers were blown down.  Some of the worst damage occurred in the Heather Hills subdivision where ten houses were flattened.  In Marion county, about 70 homes were damaged or destroyed.  In Mount Comfort, clocks were stopped at 12:25 PM and a railroad car was tipped over.  Near Eden, roofs were damaged and trees were uprooted.  Northwest of Markleville, several mobile homes were severely damaged.  The last damage occurred at Mechanicsburg where a barn was unroofed.  Somewhat miraculously, nobody was killed but about 20 people were injured.

Several F3 tornadoes have struck Indianapolis since records began, but the 1972 tornado may be the only F4 that has occurred within the Indianapolis city limits.  Another tornado in 1998 began in eastern Marion county but apparently did not produce F4 damage until it reached Hancock county.


Sources:

Storm Data
Thomas P. Grazulis, Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991 (Environmental Films, 1993).

A Look At Tornado Emergencies

In any given year, dozens of tornado warnings are likely to be issued in Indiana.  Some of these result in confirmed tornadoes while others do not.  A rare type of tornado warning - a tornado emergency - is reserved for high-end events where a particularly dangerous tornado is known to be on the ground.

Since 2002, there have been 3 tornado emergency days here - 9/20/2002, 10/18/2007 and 3/2/2012.  In many cases, only follow-up statements and not the original tornado warning contained the emergency wording.  Warnings/statements containing the emergency wording and counties affected are listed below.

TOR = original tornado warning
SVS# = follow-up statement number


9/20/2002:

Northern Johnson/Marion counties:  TOR (no SVS statements available)
Hancock county:  TOR (no SVS statements available)


10/18/2007:

Southern Elkhart county:  SVS1, SVS2, SVS3


3/2/2012:

Northwestern Clark county:  SVS3
Northern Clark/southern Scott/Jefferson counties:  SVS1, SVS2, SVS3
Northern Clark county:  SVS1
Southern Ripley/southwestern Dearborn/Ohio/Switzerland counties:  SVS1, SVS2
Switzerland county:  SVS1

 

NWS Confirms Tornado In Clay County

The NWS in Indianapolis has confirmed another tornado, an EF0 near Cory in Clay county.  The tornado touched down briefly in a field and was about 50 yards wide.

The event total now stands at 4. 

NWS Confirms Tornado In Fountain County

The NWS in Indianapolis has confirmed an additional tornado from May 1, a brief EF0 near Yeddo in Fountain county.  This tornado was on the ground for about one tenth of a mile and was 50 yards wide.  Little if any damage occurred.

NWS Confirms Tornado In Franklin County

The National Weather Service in Wilmington, Ohio has confirmed a tornado from Tuesday's storm in Franklin county.


PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE WILMINGTON OH
533 PM EDT WED MAY 2 2012  

 
...TORNADO CONFIRMED NEAR 1/2 MILE ESE MT. CARMEL IN FRANKLIN COUNTY
INDIANA... 

 
LOCATION...1/2 MILE ESE MT. CARMEL IN FRANKLIN COUNTY INDIANA
DATE...MAY 1 2012
ESTIMATED TIME...520 PM EDT
MAXIMUM EF-SCALE RATING...EF1
ESTIMATED MAXIMUM WIND SPEED...95 MPH
MAXIMUM PATH WIDTH...100 YARDS
PATH LENGTH...1.3 MILES
BEGINNING LAT/LON...39.41N / -84.86
ENDING LAT/LON...39.40N / -84.84
* FATALITIES...0
* INJURIES...0

* THE INFORMATION IN THIS STATEMENT IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO
CHANGE PENDING FINAL REVIEW OF THE EVENT(S) AND PUBLICATION IN NWS
STORM DATA.
   
..SUMMARY

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN WILMINGTON OH HAS CONFIRMED A
TORNADO NEAR 1/2 MILE ESE MT. CARMEL IN FRANKLIN COUNTY INDIANA ON
MAY 1 2012.

SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE OCCURRED TO 3 FARMSTEADS ALONG THE PATH OF THE
TORNADO. THERE WAS DAMAGE TO SEVERAL LARGE BUILDINGS WHICH
CONSISTED PRIMARILY OF ALUMINUM AND WOOD. SEVERAL SMALL SHEDS
WHICH WERE NOT ANCHORED DOWN WERE EITHER BLOWN COMPLETELY OFF
THEIR FOUNDATION OR MOVED FROM THE FOUNDATION. SOME OF THE LARGER BUILDINGS
HAD COLLAPSED WALLS...DOORS BLOWN IN...BROKEN WINDOWS AND LARGE SECTIONS
OF THEIR ROOFS TORN OFF. SEVERAL SILOS WERE SEVERELY DAMAGED.
A NARROW PATH OF WOOD AND METAL DEBRIS EXTENDED ACROSS THE FARM
FIELDS BETWEEN THE FARMSTEADS. EARLY IN THE PATH OF THE TORNADO
YOU COULD SEE METAL DEBRIS WRAPPED AROUND THE BASE OF A HIGH
TENSION WIRE TOWER. SEVERAL TREES 3 TO 6 INCHES IN DIAMETER WERE
SNAPPED AND TWISTED.  

NWS Confirms Tornado In Montgomery County

The NWS in Indianapolis has confirmed that an EF1 tornado struck Montgomery county yesterday evening.  Details are below.

At least one tornado has been confirmed as part of the severe weather that produced flooding rains, hail to golf ball size and areas of wind damage Tuesday afternoon and evening.  The tornado touched down southeast of Crawfordsville near New Ross along County Road 500S between CR625E and CR700E.  From eyewitness Skywarn storm spotters' reports, pictures and videos of the tornado and damage, and from Indianapolis TV stations' damage pictures, the tornado is being rated preliminarily as an EF1 with winds estimated between 100 mph and 110 mph.  The tornado began at approximately 736 pm, was on the ground for about a half mile, and lifted around 737 pm.  The damage rating was based on a destroyed barn, and damaged nearby homes, trees and power poles. 

Tornadoes Reported In Several Counties Today

Several reports of tornadoes have come in today.  As of this writing, tornadoes have been reported in Bartholomew, Fountain and Montgomery counties.  There was also significant wind damage (possible tornado) in Franklin county.  Storm surveys are scheduled for tomorrow and they will be posted as they come in.