Severe thunderstorm warnings, watch issued for Perry County, damaging hail possible

Quarter-size hail and fast-moving storms put northern Perry County under two severe thunderstorm warnings Friday, with another countywide watch keeping Tell City and nearby communities ready for more damaging weather into the evening.

The first warning came from the National Weather Service in Louisville at 8:49 a.m. EDT and covered southeastern Dubois County, central Crawford County and northern Perry County until 9:15 a.m. The storm was located 4 miles north of Bristow and was moving east at 64 mph. Forecasters said radar showed quarter-size hail and warned of possible vehicle damage, a threat that can quickly turn parking lots, highway travel and school pickup lines into dangerous spots.

A second warning followed at 3:34 p.m. EDT for Dubois County, northwestern Crawford County and northwestern Perry County, lasting until 4 p.m. That storm was 8 miles northeast of Dale and moving northeast at 40 mph. It also carried radar-indicated quarter-size hail and the potential for vehicle damage, signaling that the afternoon round could hit a different stretch of the county just as residents were settling into the evening hours.

By late afternoon, the National Weather Service had also posted severe thunderstorm watch 208 for Perry County and nine other south-central Indiana counties from 3:45 p.m. CDT until 10 p.m. CDT. NWS Louisville said strong to severe thunderstorms were possible that evening and night, with damaging winds and isolated hail the main concerns. The forecast office for Perry County listed thunderstorms as likely in the evening, keeping the county in a severe-weather pattern for much of the day.

For a rural county of 19,170 people, the repeated warnings carried immediate consequences for people in Tell City and the smaller communities along the Dubois and Crawford county lines. Perry County, organized in 1814 and named for Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, was under a weather threat that called for quick action: move inside, stay away from windows and put vehicles under cover if possible. Officials urged residents to monitor updates closely as the storms moved through southern Indiana and to head to an interior room on the lowest floor when warnings were issued.