Severe storms bring tornado, flooding to parts of Indiana

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Residents of eastern and south-central Indiana were cleaning up Saturday after severe thunderstorms produced a tornado that damaged homes and dumped torrential rains that led to flash flooding.

The National Weather Service said a survey team would visit an area of northeast Jay County on Saturday where one storm produced a tornado Friday evening. The weather service said the crew would assess storm damage in that area and determine the tornado’s strength and duration.

The storms Friday and early Saturday dropped heavy rainfall across parts of south-central Indiana, including more than 7 inches in the Owen County town of Spencer, said Michael Koch, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Indianapolis.

Other parts of the state saw anywhere from 3 to nearly 8 inches of rain, “which is a heck of a lot,” Koch told The Indianapolis Star.

Heavy rainfall prompted flooding in Bloomington, where 2 to 3 feet of standing water accumulated overnight on Walnut Street in the city’s downtown, cutting electricity to several traffic lights.

Friday’s storms produced unusually large hail, with reports of hail the size of golf balls or eggs, said Joseph Nield, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

Another wave of severe weather was pushing Saturday across south-central Indiana, where a flash flood warning was in effect for a swath extending from south of Terre Haute to far southeastern Indiana.