Thunderstorm Wind — Sullivan, Indiana

2022-03-07 · near New Lebanon, Sullivan, Indiana

Event narrative

Thunderstorm wind damage consistent with straight line winds during a brief downburst. The line of thunderstorms produced a very brief bowing segment around 1208 am EST from just south of Merom to just north of County Road 625 South. Assessment of damage shows property and debris thrown in a generally eastward direction with little or no lofting of debris noted.

Thunderstorm winds blew over a recreational vehicle into a pick-up truck at 5151 West County Road 400 South. This impact rolled the truck upside down. Walls of a pole barn were compromised and blown out. HVAC compressor next to the adjacent house was blown off its platform although essentially no damage occurred to house. The yard showed no signs of swirls. Local resident also reported on social media that trees and power lines were also down. Debris from other damage was also reported in the road 1.75 mile to the WSW at Indiana Route 58 and County Road 450 South.

Wider weather episode

A meandering frontal boundary slowly advanced northward in the early pre-dawn hours on March 7th. This brought a near-record moist environment and adequate instability across southern central Indiana, which combined with a low level jet stream from the southwest to produce an eastward advancing line of thunderstorms with locally severe winds. Damage was most severe in Sullivan, Shelby and Jackson Counties where winds likely gusted to 90-100 mph amid small downbursts. Insufficient evidence was present to suggest any tornadoes occurred.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (39.0262, -87.5005)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1002477. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.