Thunderstorm Wind in Allen County, Indiana

The swath of damaging winds existed southeastern Whitley county and begin to intensify further, impacting the Arcola area with numerous trees, tree limbs and power lines down, some onto structures. The damage continued southeast impacting the southwest portions of Fort Wayne and surrounding areas. The hardest hit areas extended from Aboite township into Indian Village and Waynedale. Tree and tree limb damage was extensive in some areas, causing difficulties in clearing of roadways and restoration of power as numerous power lines and poles were impacted either by the winds alone or falling trees and tree limbs. The Fox Island County Park area had to be closed for an extended period due to extensive tree damage on roads and paths. A 98 mph wind gust was recorded at the Fort Wayne Regional Airport. An 89 year old female was inside her home in the 5400 block of Mason Drive when a tree crashed into her home. She was severely injured by broken glass and passed away at a local hospital despite surgery to stop the bleeding early on the morning of June 14. The fatality was compounded by first responders being unable to reach her for an extended period of time due to the extensive tree and power line debris.

A volatile environment of over 4000 J/KG of SBCAPE, combined with 45 to 60 knots of effective shear set the stage for multiple rounds of thunderstorm during the afternoon and evening hours of June 13th. Initial storms remained poorly organized, but did produce sporadic wind damage or hail. More substantial thunderstorm development evolved during the evening hours in northwestern Indiana and southwestern Lower Michigan and progressed east, eventually producing several swaths of wind damage. The most intense cluster of storms evolved in Berrien county Michigan and dropped rapidly southeast impacting locations extending from South Bend to Fort Wayne. Southwestern portions of Fort Wayne suffered the greatest impacts with widespread tree and structure damage from 80 to nearly 100 mph winds.