Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Saturday, March 24, 2012
(INDIANAPOLIS) - Most of central Indiana was placed in a tornado watch until 1 a.m. Saturday as a storm system sparked some severe thunderstorms in parts of the state, including one storm that dumped several inches of hail in Shelby County, stranding motorists for hours.
Storms moved into the area during the late afternoon and evening hours, prompting the issuance of some tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings.
A tornado warning was issued for the Bloomington area just before 8 p.m., but there was no damage.
Indiana University student James King was studying when the storm warnings were issued.
"I was in the lounge studying, and I just saw (the sky) turn dark real quick. The alarms went off and the (Residence Advisors) came and told us to go in the basement," King said.
"I saw the storm coming in before they made us go down into the basement. It got pretty dark, pretty quick," student Joe Romweber said.
After the rain, hail of up to quarter-size fell, and there were some reports of funnel clouds.
Near Shelbyville, drivers along Interstate 74 reported six inches of hail had clogged the roads.
The hail was so deep, Indiana Department of Transportation snow plows were called to clear the roads.
Just after midnight, the storms weakened as they moved out of the area, and the warnings were dropped.
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