Hail — Jefferson, Indiana

2023-03-01 · near Hanover Beach, Jefferson, Indiana

Event narrative

Quarter sized hail fell near Hanover.

Wider weather episode

During the evening hours on March 1st, a decaying cold front gradually moved across the Ohio Valley, with showers and thunderstorms developing along and just ahead of the approaching boundary. Across southern Indiana and central Kentucky, temperatures surged into the upper 70s and lower 80s during the afternoon hours before the front's arrival, although dewpoints in the mid-to-upper 50s limited overall surface-based instability. In spite of modest dewpoints, between 500-1000 J/kg MUCAPE was able to develop ahead of developing storms, and effective bulk shear of 40-45 kts provided ample dynamic support to sustain convection across the area. The majority of the severe reports on this day was associated with initially discrete cells which quickly grew upscale into multicell clusters along and just north of the Ohio River. The cells developed in an area with 7-7.5 degree Celsius per kilometer mid-level lapse rates and 300-500 J/kg CAPE in the -10 to -30 Celsius layer, which indicates an environment at least marginally favorable for hail. Ultimately, this would be sufficient for several cells to produce severe hail across southern Indiana and northern Kentucky, with up to golf ball-sized hail being observed.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (38.7000, -85.4700)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 1088112. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.