Overview
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A supercell developed near Kankakee, IL during the evening of Tuesday, March 10th. There was a sharp gradient in temperatures in northern Indiana and northern Illinois due to a lake breeze coming off of Lake Michigan. This supercell formed in the warm sector and was well south of a warm front anchored near the Indiana-Michigan stateline. Because the supercell was on its own, it was unimpeded and able to tap into a favorable environment. It moved through far northeast Illinois and into northwest Indiana, creating a continuous path of large hail and tornado damage. This supercell then entered our forecast area in Starke County and continued to produce damage through the western portion of the county. The tornado was caught on video by several chasers in the area and prompted a Tornado Emergency to be issued as it moved closer to Knox, IN. This was the 3rd Tornado Emergency issued by NWS Northern Indiana and the first since one was issued on May 7, 2024 for Union City, MI in Branch County.
Webpage last updated at 6 AM EDT March 11th
Our hearts go out to anyone affected by the severe storms and tornadoes on March 10th. We appreciate everyone who has sent in pictures, videos, and reports to us of damage including emergency management, trained spotters, broadcast media, storm chasers, and the public. A survey crew will be heading to survey west of Knox, IN later this morning. |
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Tornadoes
Select a tornado from the table to zoom into the track and view more information. The default table view is limited to 8 tracks, but can be scrolled by a mouse wheel or dynamically expanded. Additionally, the table can fill the entire window by clicking the small circular expanding arrow icon at the very top right of the table and returned to its original size by clicking the button again. The side information panel that opens over the map can be closed using the "X" on the upper right corner of the pop-up. Zoom into the map and click damage points to see detailed information and pictures from the surveys.
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NOTE: times shown below are local to your device's time zone. |
The Enhanced Fujita (EF) Scale classifies tornadoes into the following categories:
| EF0 Weak 65-85 mph |
EF1 Moderate 86-110 mph |
EF2 Significant 111-135 mph |
EF3 Severe 136-165 mph |
EF4 Extreme 166-200 mph |
EF5 Catastrophic 200+ mph |
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| Tornadoes that fail to impact any ratable damage indicators on the EF-Scale are rated EF-Unknown (EF-U) | |||||
Photos & Video
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| Photo of the tornado near Knox, IN (Amber NeVille) |
A grain dryer was toppled in western Starke County by the tornado (LukeZimWx) |
A view of the tornado in San Pierre, IN (Zach_the_trick1) |
Damage in Stark County, IN (OH Storm Chasers) |
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| Damage in Stark County, IN (OH Storm Chasers) |
Damage in Stark County, IN (OH Storm Chasers) |
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Storm Reports
Preliminary Local Storm Report...Summary
National Weather Service Northern Indiana
123 AM EDT Wed Mar 11 2026
..TIME... ...EVENT... ...CITY LOCATION... ...LAT.LON...
..DATE... ....MAG.... ..COUNTY LOCATION..ST.. ...SOURCE....
..REMARKS..
0908 PM Tornado 1 WNW San Pierre 41.21N 86.92W
03/10/2026 Starke IN Trained Spotter
Spotter had photo of the tornado as it
entered Starke County north and west of San
Pierre, IN. Time estimated by radar. Delayed
report.
0910 PM Hail 1 W La Crosse 41.32N 86.91W
03/10/2026 M0.70 Inch La Porte IN Public
0927 PM Tornado 2 ESE English Lake 41.26N 86.79W
03/10/2026 Starke IN Trained Spotter
Observed tornado by spotter video (delayed
report).
0935 PM Tornado 2 WNW Toto 41.27N 86.73W
03/10/2026 Starke IN Trained Spotter
Spotter said there is damage to numerous
trees in this area near W County Road 200 S
on IN-39.
0935 PM Tornado 2 WNW Toto 41.27N 86.74W
03/10/2026 Starke IN Trained Spotter
Healthy 1ft diameter trees uprooted. Some
snapped at the top.
0935 PM Tornado 3 N Toto 41.30N 86.70W
03/10/2026 Starke IN Emergency Mngr
Tornado observed. Damage between East 200
South and East 50 south. Large diameter
trees downed.
0936 PM Tornado 1 N Toto 41.27N 86.70W
03/10/2026 Starke IN Trained Spotter
Tornado picture from spotter sent in looking
to the west-northwest. Lat/lon is spotter
location. Delayed report.
0937 PM Tornado 2 SE Brems 41.32N 86.66W
03/10/2026 Starke IN Trained Spotter
Grain Dryer blown over. Time estimated by
radar. Delayed report.
0937 PM Tornado 2 SW Brems 41.32N 86.72W
03/10/2026 Starke IN Amateur Radio
Corrects previous tstm wnd dmg report to
tornado from 2 SW Brems. Report of a barn
destroyed with debris on Route 8 just west
of the Starke County airport. Time estimated
via radar.
0940 PM Hail 2 WNW Brems 41.35N 86.74W
03/10/2026 M0.75 Inch La Porte IN Trained Spotter
0944 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 2 ESE Brems 41.33N 86.67W
03/10/2026 M51 MPH Starke IN AWOS
AWOS station KOXI Knox - Starke Co. Airport.
0950 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 3 WNW South Bend 41.70N 86.32W
03/10/2026 M60 MPH St. Joseph IN ASOS
ASOS station KSBN South Bend International
Ap.
1056 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 2 SW Fishers Lake 41.97N 85.60W
03/10/2026 M48 MPH St. Joseph MI AWOS
Corrects previous tstm wnd gst report from 2
SW Fishers Lake. AWOS station KHAI Three
Rivers.
1110 PM Marine Tstm Wind 2 NW Michigan City 41.73N 86.91W
03/10/2026 M51 MPH LMZ046 IN C-Man Station
1115 PM Tstm Wnd Gst 1 N Benton Heights 42.13N 86.42W
03/10/2026 M44 MPH Berrien MI ASOS
ASOS station KBEH Benton Harbor.
1148 PM Hail Rolling Prarie 41.67N 86.62W
03/10/2026 M0.70 Inch La Porte IN Trained Spotter
1240 AM Marine Tstm Wind 2 NW Michigan City 41.73N 86.91W
03/11/2026 M41 MPH LMZ046 IN C-Man Station
Rainfall Totals
Public Information Statement National Weather Service Northern Indiana 455 AM EDT Wed Mar 11 2026 ...RAINFALL REPORTS AS OF 4:55 AM EDT MARCH 11TH... Location Amount Time/Date Provider ...Indiana... ...Allen County... FORT WAYNE 0.06 in 0445 AM 03/11 CWOP FORT WAYNE 0.06 in 0449 AM 03/11 CWOP ...Cass County... Logansport 0.28 in 0445 AM 03/11 CWOP Walton 0.02 in 0445 AM 03/11 CWOP ...De Kalb County... Garrett 0.13 in 0450 AM 03/11 CWOP ...Elkhart County... Goshen 1.83 in 0427 AM 03/11 ASOS Jamestown 1.59 in 0448 AM 03/11 CWOP Elkhart Municipa 0.85 in 0155 AM 03/11 AWOS Elkhart Municipa 0.72 in 0435 AM 03/11 AWOS ...Kosciusko County... Syracuse 1.56 in 0450 AM 03/11 AWS 1 SSE Clunette 0.14 in 0440 AM 03/11 AWS Syracuse 0.13 in 0155 AM 03/11 AWS ...La Porte County... 0.8 W La Porte 1.37 in 1258 AM 03/11 COOP La Porte 0.88 in 0435 AM 03/11 AWOS ...Marshall County... 1.2 W Plymouth 1.55 in 0345 AM 03/11 COOP 1.2 W Plymouth 1.29 in 0145 AM 03/11 COOP ...Miami County... Peru 0.02 in 0430 AM 03/11 HADS Amboy 0.02 in 0445 AM 03/11 CWOP AMBOY 0.01 in 0445 AM 03/11 CWOP Grissom AFB Peru T in 0447 AM 03/11 AWOS ...Noble County... Ligonier 4.31 in 0449 AM 03/11 AWS Ligonier 0.98 in 0154 AM 03/11 AWS Cosperville 0.61 in 0430 AM 03/11 HADS ...Pulaski County... 1.3 SW Ora 0.02 in 0345 AM 03/11 COOP ...St. Joseph County... South Bend International Ap 1.29 in 0154 AM 03/11 ASOS South Bend International Ap 1.29 in 0354 AM 03/11 ASOS 0.9 W Roseland 0.84 in 0415 AM 03/11 COOP ...Starke County... 3.5 N Brems 0.03 in 0400 AM 03/11 HADS ...Steuben County... 0.7 E Hamilton 1.28 in 0445 AM 03/11 HADS ...White County... Norway 0.07 in 0445 AM 03/11 HADS Monticello - White County Ar 0.04 in 0435 AM 03/11 AWOS ...Michigan... ...Berrien County... Niles 0.60 in 0445 AM 03/11 CWOP 3.7 S Watervliet 0.58 in 0400 AM 03/11 UCOOP Benton Harbor 0.46 in 0405 AM 03/11 ASOS Benton Harbor 0.28 in 0153 AM 03/11 ASOS ...Branch County... 1 SSW Coldwater 0.62 in 0448 AM 03/11 AWS QUINCY 0.58 in 0450 AM 03/11 CWOP Coldwater 0.57 in 0155 AM 03/11 AWOS Coldwater 0.57 in 0435 AM 03/11 AWOS 1 SSW Coldwater 0.34 in 0153 AM 03/11 AWS ...St. Joseph County... 2.0 SE Mendon 0.78 in 0400 AM 03/11 UCOOP Three Rivers 0.16 in 0155 AM 03/11 AWOS Three Rivers 0.16 in 0435 AM 03/11 AWOS Sturgis Kirsch 0.01 in 0155 AM 03/11 AWOS Sturgis Kirsch 0.01 in 0435 AM 03/11 AWOS ...Ohio... ...Defiance County... Defiance T in 0353 AM 03/11 ASOS ...Fulton County... 4.6 SW Morenci (R2) (R2) 0.18 in 0400 AM 03/11 COOP
Radar
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Environment
The discrete supercell that tracked from northern Illinois into northwest Indiana and caused significant impacts rode the surface based CAPE gradient along the warm side of a stalled frontal boundary on the evening of March 10th (Figures 1 & 2). Around the time the supercell was moving into Starke County, the significant tornado parameter (EF2+ intensity tornadoes) was 2 (Figure 3). This does NOT mean a tornado of this magnitude occurred but shows the environment is favorable for this type of intensity. There was 40-50 kts of shear (Figure 5) from 0-6 km (Figure 4).
There were several MDs issued from both SPC and from WPC from Tuesday evening through Wednesday morning (March 10-11) to account for the severe threats and flooding concerns (Figures 10 through 17). As for the heavy rainfall and flooding threats that developed overnight, precipitable water values and 850mb moisture noticeably increased after sunset on March 10th (Figures 7 & 8). The 850mb moisture transport vectors showed low level flow parallel to the southeastward sinking frontal boundary and increasing moisture advection from the Gulf.
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| Figure 1: WPC Surface Analysis at 00Z March 11th (8 PM EDT/7 PM CDT) | Figure 2: Surface based CAPE as of 01Z March 11th (9 PM EDT/8 PM CDT) | Figure 3: Significant Tornado Parameter as of 01Z March 11th (9 PM EDT/8 PM CDT) |
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| Figure 4: 0-6 km shear as of 01Z March 11th (9 PM EDT/8 PM CDT) | Figure 5: 0-1 km shear as of 01Z March 11th (9 PM EDT/8 PM CDT) | Figure 6: 300mb analysis as of 01Z March 11th (9 PM EDT/8 PM CDT) |
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| Figure 7: Precipitable water and 850mb moisture transport as of 01Z March 11th (9 PM EDT/8 PM CDT) | Figure 8: Precipitable water and 850mb moisture transport as of 06Z March 11th (2 AM EDT/1 AM CDT) | Figure 9: 500mb analysis as of 01Z March 11th (9 PM EDT/8 PM CDT) |
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| Figure 10: WPC mesoscale discussion #0056 issued at 4:30 PM CDT March 10th | Figure 11: WPC mesoscale discussion #0058 issued at 10:25 PM CDT March 10th | Figure 12: WPC mesoscale discussion #0060 issued at 3:52 AM CDT March 11th |
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| Figure 13: SPC Mesoscale Discussion #0187 issued at 1:55 PM CDT March 10th | Figure 14: SPC Mesoscale Discussion #0191 issued at 4:55 PM CDT March 10th | Figure 15: SPC Mesoscale Discussion #0194 issued at 6:29 PM CDT March 10th |
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| Figure 16: SPC Mesoscale Discussion #0200 issued at 8:51 PM CDT March 10th | Figure 17: SPC Mesoscale Discussion #0205 issued at 12:58 AM March 11th | Figure 18: Tornado Watch #37 issued at 6:47 PM CDT March 10th |
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