After record-high temperature day, storms threaten Indy area. What's next in the forecast
Mother Nature delivered her Greatest Hits to the Indianapolis area this weekend.
Saturday, we chucked our winter boots for flip flops and enjoyed a sunny, breezy summer's day, which broke a decades-old high temperature record.
After midnight, the rain joined the wind. Around 3 a.m., National Weather Service tornado sirens and phone alerts startled Hamilton County residents awake with the call to seek shelter.
Camped out in the smallest bathroom on Earth due to a tornado warning. pic.twitter.com/IQlZQA9taO
— Kaitlin Lange (@kaitlin_lange) March 6, 2022
And after a calm Sunday, the threat may return Sunday night.
The NWS has not confirmed any tornado touchdowns, nor are there strong enough signs of any for the local office to send out surveyors, meteorologist Randy Bowers said.
The tornado warning started with Carmel, Noblesville and Westfield at 2:55 a.m., as a fast-moving line of severe thunderstorms approached with heavy wind gusts. Within minutes, the warning moved northeast to Madison and Delaware counties, including Muncie, Anderson and Yorktown.
A fast-moving line of severe thunderstorms...now stretching from Muncie to northern portions of the Indy Metro...is continuing to track from west-southwest to east-northeast. Expect wind gusts to 70 mph, with possible tornadoes. #INwx #nwsind pic.twitter.com/jEtFYXWhb8
— NWS Indianapolis (@NWSIndianapolis) March 6, 2022
While the radar showed some signs of rotation, most of the wind looked straight, Bowers said. Wind gusts clocked in up to 60 mph.
"We may have gotten away with some straight line winds," he said.
He said there were some reports of downed tree limbs and power lines, but none of serious damage.
@NWSIndianapolis advised the tornado warning for HC was due to a very brief sign of rotation around SR 32 and Hamilton-Boone Line Rd.
HCEM is conducting windshield surveys and will also fly the areas in question with drones. We will update this post with what we find. #INwx pic.twitter.com/cjvjmPpsTq— Hamilton County Emergency Management (@HamiltonCoEOC) March 6, 2022
From 2019: Nine tornadoes hit Indiana with EF-1 damage
Indianapolis did break a temperature record Saturday.
Saturday's high of 77 degrees beat the old record for March 5 that was set in 1956 and tied in 1983 — 75 degrees, according to the NWS.
Temperatures are falling to the mid 50s through the day Sunday, and some wind gusts are sticking around.
Then Sunday night after midnight, another line of severe thunderstorms is expected south of I-70, along with the threat of isolated tornadoes or damaging winds.
Showers and thunderstorms will develop tonight. Scattered severe thunderstorms are possible, mainly after midnight and south of Interstate 70. Damaging winds and isolated tornadoes will be the primary severe threat. #inwx pic.twitter.com/00ayjzX6zh
— NWS Indianapolis (@NWSIndianapolis) March 6, 2022
Then a cold front will move through the area Monday, dropping temperatures back to familiar territory overnight: below freezing.
Contact IndyStar transportation reporter Kayla Dwyer at kdwyer@indystar.com or follow her on Twitter @kayla_dwyer17.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Tornado warning: Indianapolis area seeing record setting weather
