Last Updated on April 2, 2023 by Cass County Communication Network
Scroll through this post for updates on the March 31, 2023 storms in Cass County. The most recent info is at the top of the page.
Here’s a summary of the severe weather response in Cass County on March 31, 2023:
BEFORE THE STORM
Cass County Emergency Management Agency (EMA) director Rocky Buffum says EMA had been monitoring NWS updates for multiple days.
“EMA collaborates with “upstream” counties to see what impacts are occurring,” he says. “In the case of Friday night, we knew there were reports of possible tornados in Vermillion County (Illinois) as well as Benton and Western White Counties in Indiana.
EMA personnel were in the field near the Cass County line around the area of anticipated impact and fire departments in the area of anticipated impact (Georgetown, Royal Center, Lucurne, Twelve Mile) were paged out to standby for siren activation and/or response if needed.
DURING THE STORM
Buffum says visibility dropped to zero for a period of time, with reports of small brief hail.An EMA unit responded to a call from a semi on State Road 16 that indicated it had been blown off the roadway. The back wheels were off the road, and the semi was able to get back underway with minimal assistance.
A tree limb fell on a van traveling US35 toward Royal Center resulting in multiple minor injuries. Royal Center Fire Department first Responders, EMA unit and Cass County EMS responded.
A roof was blown off of a dairy farm building onto propane tanks which were damaged northeast of Twelve Mile. Twelve Mile Fire Department responded.
A vehicle was trapped between downed trees and power lines near 600 E and 250 N. Twelve Mile Fire Department and EMA responded.
EMA also communicated with “down stream” counties and NWS to advise about conditions that appeared to be headed their way.
AFTER THE STORM
Buffum says the 911 center experienced a surge of calls including power lines down, trees down, reports of people trapped in houses and damaged propane tanks.
Impacts from high wind, like downed trees and power lines, were found in nearly every part of the county.
Emergency services personnel responded to damaged residences, attempted to locate occupants, blocked roads/arranged for clearing of obstructions and took other measures to ensure public safety.
Three units from the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Department came into Cass County to assist.
Utility and highway/street department crews worked thru the weekend clearing roads and restoring power.
EMA put out a call to the public to report damage, and many people did send information via email or Facebook messenger. Buffum says this helps greatly with documentation and informing National Weather Service in their evaluation.
Buffum says the National Weather Service evaluated information gathered directly from EMA, as well as information that had been forwarded on direct from citizen spotters.
Cass County EMA guided NWS on a tour of damage areas on Saturday. NWS made the determination Cass County was impacted by a tornado in addition to widespread straight line wind impacts.
An EF 1 tornado was reported near Royal Center in Cass County.
EF2 and EF0 tornadoes were reported in Northeast Allen County, and In addition, damage was reported in Benton County, White County, Grant County and Wells County in Indiana and Defiance County and Paulding County, Ohio.
The National Weather Service also reports 7 tornadoes across the Indianapolis area
- Clinton Co: EF1 w/ peak winds at 110mph
- SW Howard Co: 2 EF0 tornadoes w/ peak winds at 80mph
- SE Howard Co: EF1 w/peak winds at 110mph
- Sullivan Co: EF3 w/ peak winds to 155 mph
- Johnson Co: EF0 w/ peak winds to 85 mph south of Bargersville
- Johnson Co: EF2 w/ peak winds to 135 mph in Whiteland
WHY DIDN’T THE TORNADO SIRENS GO OFF IN CASS COUNTY?
Buffum says the protocol for activation of tornado sirens requires either a Tornado Warning from the National Weather Service (which was NOT issued for Cass County) or confirmation of a funnel cloud on the ground by a trained spotter. Neither of these criteria were met.
“While EMA units were in the area, there was zero visibility during the period of heavy rain and surge of wind,” Buffum says. “Even if it would have been during the daytime, it would not have been possible to see the funnel cloud under these conditions.”
Buffum reminds residents that warning sirens primarily warn people outside of severe weather. He says much of Cass County’s land mass (including the area of greatest impact from this storm) is outside the range of being able to hear a tornado siren.
“Their effectiveness for people inside homes, particularly with loud rain and wind, is extremely limited.”
EMA encourages all to have multiple ways to receive alerts. Some of the suggested ways include the FEMA App, Weather Alert Radios, monitoring area media including radio stations which broadcast emergency alerts, and monitoring sources such as National Weather Service Northern Indiana and Cass County Emergency Management Agency Facebook which warn of potential hazards days in advance.
“I would like to make a special note on the role of the 911 center,” Buffum says. “They took a huge number of 911 calls, coordinated Cass County resources as well as visiting resources assisting from neighboring counties, and also made a lot of phone calls assisting boots on the ground responders determining if occupants of homes were accounted for at other locations and if further search was necessary. Coordinating the large number of public works agencies, utility providers, emergency responders and taking what seems like a never ending stream of 911 calls (and administrative line calls) in the process is a huge feat. It takes a special team to succeed under these conditions.”
More thunderstorms are in the forecast for Monday, April 3 through Wednesday, April 5, with some sources anticipating the possibility of more severe storms developing on Tuesday, April 4.
Additional updates posted throughout the weekend can be found below.
Below is the National Weather Service summary of the March 31, 2023 tornado in Royal Center:
ROYAL CENTER TORNADO…
RATING: EF1
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND: 100 MPH
PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/: 1.73 MILES
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/: 300.0 YARDS
FATALITIES: 0
INJURIES: 0
START DATE: 04/01/2023
START TIME: 10:13 PM EDT
START LOCATION: 4 NNW LAKE CICOTT / CASS COUNTY / IN
START LAT/LON: 40.815 / -86.5572
END DATE: 04/01/2023
END TIME: 10:16 PM EDT
END LOCATION: 3 SSW ROYAL CENTER / CASS COUNTY / IN
END LAT/LON: 40.8289 / -86.5305
SURVEY SUMMARY:
AN NWS STORM SURVEY CONFIRMED A TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN IN AN OPEN FIELD SOUTH OF W CR 400 N, BETWEEN N CR 1000W AND 925W. IT TRACKED QUICKLY NORTHEAST, FLIPPING 8 SPANS OF A CENTER PIVOT IRRIGATION SYSTEM ONCE, THE DESTROYED 2 LARGE POLE BARNS AT A RESIDENCE NEAR 400 N AND 925W. SEVERAL TREES WERE SNAPPED AND CORN FODDER FROM THE FIELD WAS PULLED INTO THE YARD AND EXTENDED NORTHEAST FORM THERE. THE BACK GARAGE PORTION OF A HOME WAS DAMAGED. POWER POLES WERE ALSO SNAPPED IN THE AREA. THE TORNADO MADE A TURN TO THE RIGHT SOME AND BEGAN TO WEAKEN, STRIKING A HOME AT THE INTERSECTION OF W CR 400 N AND N CR 900 N WHERE THE ROOF ON THE SW SIDE OF THE HOME WAS LIFTED, SEVERAL SMALLER TREES WERE UPROOTED AND A FUEL TANK WAS ROLLED INTO THE FIELD TO THE NE. DEBRIS WAS CARRIED FOR A FEW MORE MILES TO THE NORTHEAST. THE TRACK OF THE TORNADO MAY HAVE CONTINUED FURTHER NORTHEAST BUT IT WEAKENED SIGNIFICANTLY AFTER THE NOTED DAMAGE AREAS. MAX WIDTH 300 YARDS WITH MAX WIND WIND SPEED ESTIMATED AT 100 MPH.
More info from the National Weather Service is available here.
Cass County Emergency Management Agency posted the following information on their Facebook page on Saturday evening, April 1, 2023:
March 31, 2023 tornado will be rated as an EF1. Wind speeds were determined to have been 100 miles per hour.
Packet with storm track, as well as info from the other region tornadoes, to be released by NWS later this evening. We will share it here when we receive it.
We are proud to serve Cass County.
Cass County Emergency Management Agency posted the following information on their Facebook page on Saturday afternoon, April 1, 2023:
This afternoon EMA staff accompanied National Weather Service personnel on a tour of areas damaged by last nights storms.
Preliminary analysis indicates a tornado touched down briefly southwest of Royal Center, destroying two barns and damaging multiple homes in the area.
A rating classification has not yet been assigned. Further update will be provided once NWS issues its final report.
Multiple other areas of the county experienced damage from straight line winds that moved thru the area, and utility crews are still conducting repairs in some areas.
We are proud to serve Cass County.
REPORT STORM DAMAGE:
Hoosiers impacted by the severe storms that occurred overnight on March 31-April 1, 2023, are asked to contact Indiana 211 to report damages and help with a damage assessment. | More info