High Wind in Tippecanoe, Indiana

A non-thunderstorm wind gust measured 58 mph from due west at 1054EST by KLAF Purdue University Airport.

On March 13, 2026, a potent late-winter occluded storm system tracked across the Great Lakes while slowly filling, from early morning at 985 mb in northeastern Wisconsin, to late day at 989 mb over the northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan. The system's cold front crossed northern and northeastern portions of central Indiana from 1000 to 1230EST.

Both an earlier corresponding low-level jet stream axis and a later tighter surface pressure gradient crossed the region, promoting widespread gusty winds veering from southwest to west-northwest while gusting to 45 to 57 mph. When these two features briefly overlapped following the frontal passage, through midday to early afternoon hours, and also coupled with increased boundary layer mixing under plentiful sun, isolated highest wind gusts reached 58-67 mph. Winds subsided quickly through evening hours.

This unusually intense gradient wind episode for the central Indiana region included measured gusts of 58+ mph at seven reporting stations; four reports from Tipton County to Delaware County of semi trucks traveling on north-south roads being blown over to the east; and widely scattered tree, power line, and minor property (mainly roof) damage that was most prevalent in Delaware County.