Hail in Orange County, Indiana

Nickel to quarter size hail was observed in the eastern part of Orange County, near the Rego community. In French Lick and Paoli, smaller hailstones covered the ground.

During the mid-to-late evening hours on March 22nd, a strong cold front dropped across the Ohio Valley, bringing a sharp drop in temperatures in addition to isolated strong to severe thunderstorms. During the afternoon hours, temperatures surged to near record levels in the mid-to-upper 80s, though dewpoint temperatures remained in the low-to-mid 50s. As a result, as the front moved into the region, instability remained relatively limited, with 500-1000 J/kg mixed-layer CAPE present. The large dewpoint depressions did allow for unseasonably high amounts of downdraft CAPE, and a strong gust front combined with the cold front to produce 45-55 mph winds separate from thunderstorms across southern Indiana and northern Kentucky. Scattered cells did become strong enough to produce near-severe size hail across southern Indiana, with between half inch and quarter size hail reported across Orange, Washington, and Harrison County.