Flash Flood — Owen, Indiana

2013-12-21 · near Adel, Owen, Indiana

Event narrative

An Owen County woman was killed Christmas Eve when her car hit flooded waters on her way to a Christmas family gathering. According to a release, emergency crews responded to the area around 8:00 p.m. Tuesday for a call that a car landed in flooded water. When they got to the vehicle, they say there wasn't anyone inside. After a brief search, including a door-to-door search, they found the driver, 86, partially submerged in the water a short distance from the car. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Wider weather episode

A front stalled out just southeast of central Indiana on December 20-21. Waves of low pressure rode along the front, generating rain across the area. With tropical moisture moving into the system, heavy rain occurred across parts of central Indiana. Some areas received over 5 inches of rain in less than 48 hours. This not only resulted in flash flooding, but also resulted in river flooding not long after. Some rivers across central Indiana saw major flooding, with rivers higher than they had been in 5 years or more. A couple of locations saw the highest flood crests in over 20 years.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (39.2313, -86.8001)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 491760. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.