Thunderstorm Wind — Hamilton, Indiana

2021-03-27 · near Indianapolis Metro A, Hamilton, Indiana

Event narrative

A tree was downed by thunderstorm wind gusts at the 1900 block of Westwood Drive. The tree fell on a 40 year old man who was in the backyard at the time and was not able to escape before the winds arrived. This was an isolated area of much stronger winds than the otherwise modest 50kt gusts nearby. It was noted via drone footage that in this isolated area, numerous trees were uprooted, but all fell generally along the storm motion indicating straight line winds.

Wider weather episode

During the late evening hours of March 28th, a line of thunderstorms was moving through Indiana as a cold front neared the area. Ahead of this line, a strong thunderstorm formed and moved to the east. As it neared the Indianapolis Metro area, the storm rapidly intensified causing hail and wind damage as it traveled north of Indianapolis. A gust front pushed to the south which led to additional wind damage. Unfortunately, one person was outside during the strong winds and was killed by a falling tree limb.

View location on OpenStreetMap → (39.9619, -86.0696)

Source: NOAA Storm Events Database, event_id 940484. Narrative written by the NWS forecast office that issued the report.