As the large upper level wind pattern began to change by midweek last week, so did our weather. A deep trough developed over much of the west, resulting in a south flow across the Ohio Valley and much of the Eastern US. Moisture was quick to return to the region and as several ripples traveled along the jet stream, a series of storm systems began to impact our weather.

The first in this series of storms arrived early Wednesday the 8th day of March. This first wave was in the form of a warm front that resulted in some heavy rains across much of southern Indiana. Anywhere between about a half inch to an inch of rain was recorded across most Indiana counties. Not a blockbuster of a storm, but it was enough to start moistening up the previously dry grounds.

The next day, Thursday the 9th, featured a vigorous shortwave trough in the upper levels and an accompanied surface cold front that dealt us some rain, some lightning and a whole lot of wind. Wind damage reports started pouring in by mid-afternoon from all across Kentuckiana as a prefrontal squall line of thunderstorms started sweeping across the area. A funnel cloud was reported in Dubois County, IN shortly before a barn was destroyed and a house was damaged by high thunderstorm winds. Although, numerous trees and power lines were downed by the afternoon storms, a second, more powerful, line of storms would rake through the area just hours later marking the arrival of the cold front. The second storm raced through the area delivering wide spread 60mph winds from Harrison & Floyd Counties in Indiana to Hardin & Nelson Counties in Kentucky. These winds blew a roof off a home in E-town, downed hundreds of trees and left tens of thousands of people without power.

In the wake of the powerful system on Thursday, Mother Nature gave us a break on Friday the 10th as high pressure briefly made a return to the area. The pleasant weather did not last long though. As another ripple developed in the jet stream, a warm front began surging moisture back into the area early on Saturday the 11th, just in time for the start of the first leg of the Triple Crown of Running – The Anthem 5K held in downtown Louisville. The storm resulted in a few severe thunderstorm warnings, some very heavy rain and about 6,500 soaked runners. The rain was so heavy, in fact, a large portion of southern Indiana picked up between 3 and 4 inches of rainfall causing lots of flash flooding.

Sunday the 12th turned out to be almost as wet as the 11th. As a weak cool front made its way south across the viewing area, a large area of heavy rain and severe thunderstorms made a north to south migration across Kentuckiana during the morning hours. The heavy rains only exacerbated the already swollen creeks and rivers especially in southern Indiana where so much rain had already fallen just the day before. To add insult to injury, after the front had made its plight through the viewing area, it backed back up as a warm front during the afternoon hours resulting in pockets of more heavy rain and a few more severe thunderstorms. By the end of the day, evacuations had been ordered for several small communities including Milltown, IN, which was engulfed by the usually tame Blue River, and several counties declared a state of emergency as many state roads and highways became impassable due to the rampant flood waters.

The last of the storms arrived on Monday, March 13th. As a powerful cold front approached from the west, another line of thunderstorms raced through the region during the late morning and into the afternoon hours. These storms intensified once again during the afternoon and produced high winds and some very large hail. Three quarter inch hail was very common across much of the southeastern viewing area. Hail to the size of quarters was reported near the town of Buffalo in Larue County, KY while the town of Upton in Hardin County, KY reported hail to the size of half dollars! These hail reports actually paled in comparison to the baseball sized hail that was reported just to the south in Warren County, KY.

When all was said and done, some places received as much as 8 inches of rainfall, saw winds up to 60mph and hail to the size of baseballs… Wow, what a week for weather! It leaves one to wonder what the months of April, May & June will bring?