A surface Low over Missouri early in the afternoon of March 2nd strengthened to below 990mb as it moved north into Michigan by the evening hours. Around dawn, a warm front moved north of the Ohio River, accompanied by scattered elevated thunderstorms that produced small hail. During the early afternoon, temperatures rose into the lower 70s across southern Indiana. the combination of extreme wind shear and CAPE near 2000 Joules/kg brought several long lived supercells to the state near the Ohio River. These storms produced baseball-sized hail and several tornadoes, including a violent long-tracker, to southern Indiana. The tornadoes across the area were a part of a well forecast regional outbreak that affected the entire Lower Ohio and Tennessee Valleys. Overall, more than 80 tornadoes caused millions of dollars of damage and took several dozen lives.
For southern Indiana, March 2nd became the worst tornado outbreak since June 2nd, 1990.

Hail in DUBOIS, INDIANA
From 02-MAR-12 14:23:00 to 02-MAR-12 14:23:00 (EST-5)
Location: BIRDSEYE
Magnitude: 2.00 
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

A spotter reported two inch hail covering the ground.

Hail in DUBOIS, INDIANA
From 02-MAR-12 14:08:00 to 02-MAR-12 14:08:00 (EST-5)
Location: HUNTINGBURG
Magnitude: 1.00 
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Hail in DUBOIS, INDIANA
From 02-MAR-12 14:15:00 to 02-MAR-12 14:15:00 (EST-5)
Location: BIRDSEYE
Magnitude: 1.00 
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Hail in CRAWFORD, INDIANA
From 02-MAR-12 14:27:00 to 02-MAR-12 14:27:00 (EST-5)
Location: TASWELL
Magnitude: 1.75 
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Tornado in CLARK, INDIANA
From 02-MAR-12 15:09:00 to 02-MAR-12 15:25:00 (EST-5)
Location: BLUE LICK
Tornado F-scale: EF4
Property damage: 55.00M
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: NWS Storm Survey

This is a continuation of the violent long tracked tornado that began just south of Fredricksburg moved into Clark county as an EF-4 with a path width of one-third of a mile.
On Dan Gray Road, many well-constructed homes were leveled.  The tornado narrowed to a path width of one-quarter of a mile and decreased in intensity as it crossed Pixley Knob Road. Farther east, the twister destroyed two double-wide modular homes on Speith Road, killing one resident who had moments earlier been videotaping the tornado, and had taken shelter in the interior hallway of the home. Another family residence on the west side of the road was severely damaged, reflecting 150 mph winds.
The tornado crossed Interstate 65, trapping several people within damaged cars and semis.  This highway was closed for several hours.  The tornado strengthened just east of exit 19 off the Interstate as it entered a heavily industrialized area.  Buildings containing several businesses were destroyed.  A home was destroyed with estimated EF-4 winds on the east side of North Fraucke Road. Several homes were seriously damaged on the north side of State Highway 160.  The EF-4 tornado then moved through Henryville, severely damaging the south building of the Henryville Junior-Senior High School.  The cafeteria was completely destroyed and six automobiles were piled up along the south side of the school.  Two school buses in the south parking lot were ripped off their chassis, with one moved hundreds of feet east into a commercial business building across North Ferguson Street.
Extensive structural damage was surveyed on the east side of Henryville on North Front and Pennsylvania Streets.  A high tension tower and other homes were damaged just west of Pine Drive.  On Brownstown Road, many homes sustained EF-3 damage along the north side of the road.  Several homes were destroyed along Henryville-Otisco Road, with the damage to one reflecting EF-4 winds.  The tornado cycled near the intersect of Blackberry Trail and State Highway 3, with the original vortex narrowing rapidly into a rope-like funnel and ending as an EF-1 just as a new vortex immediately touched down just to the southwest of the original  near Highway 3 and Mahan Road. This new twister damaged a church as an EF-1 and quickly intensified to an EF-3 as it severely damaged several homes on the south side of Marysville. A Civil Air Patrol Flight revealed extensive ground scouring across several fields east of Marysville all the way to the Scott Jefferson County Line. The scouring indicated a multiple vortex tornado and was confirmed by witnesses and photos.  Several homes were severely damaged near and south of the intersection of Nabb-New Washington and Marysville-Nabb Roads.  The tornado had 150 mph winds and a width of one third of a mile at this point.
The tornado intensified over open country east of the intersection of Kettle Bottom and State Highway 362 before crossing into Scott County as it moved north of Route 362.

Hail in CLARK, INDIANA
From 02-MAR-12 16:09:00 to 02-MAR-12 16:09:00 (EST-5)
Location: SELLERSBURG
Magnitude: 1.00 
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Hail in FLOYD, INDIANA
From 02-MAR-12 15:58:00 to 02-MAR-12 15:58:00 (EST-5)
Location: GREENVILLE
Magnitude: 1.00 
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Amateur Radio

One inch hail fell at the intersection of Pekin Road and State Highway 150.

Hail in SCOTT, INDIANA
From 02-MAR-12 15:44:00 to 02-MAR-12 15:44:00 (EST-5)
Location: NABB
Magnitude: 1.00 
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

Hail in JEFFERSON, INDIANA
From 02-MAR-12 15:33:00 to 02-MAR-12 15:33:00 (EST-5)
Location: ANTIOCH GRANGE
Magnitude: 1.75 
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Hail in DUBOIS, INDIANA
From 02-MAR-12 14:23:00 to 02-MAR-12 14:23:00 (EST-5)
Location: IRELAND
Magnitude: 1.00 
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Amateur Radio

This one inch hail came from a second supercell that tracked over Dubois County.

Hail in DUBOIS, INDIANA
From 02-MAR-12 14:42:00 to 02-MAR-12 14:42:00 (EST-5)
Location: CELESTINE
Magnitude: 1.75 
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Tornado in WASHINGTON, INDIANA
From 02-MAR-12 14:50:00 to 02-MAR-12 15:08:00 (EST-5)
Location: FREDDRICKSBURG
Tornado F-scale: EF4
Property damage: 2.00M
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: NWS Storm Survey

This EF-4 tornado that ultimately stayed on the ground for 49 miles across several counties touched down just south of Fredricksburg.  Several trees were snapped off with estimated EF-1 damage along a path of 30 yards wide along the south fork of the Blue Lick River.  After crossing farmland, the tornado widened and intensified quickly, toppling a high tension metal power structure near the intersection of Homers Chapel and Fredricksburg Roads. Damage at that location was consistent with 130 mph winds.
High tension wires were downed and trees snapped along West End Road just north of Shanks Hill Road.  The tornado continued to intensify as it crossed State Route 135 at Dutch Creek Road, ripping large chunks of 3 inch thick asphalt from a section of roadway and depositing large pieces up to 30 yards away, with smaller chunks of pavement found a quarter of a mile downstream.  Just east of State Route 135, tremendous tree damage began. At this point, the tornado widened to around 200 yards. As the tornado crossed Trainer Lane and Route 335 towards Robbs Lane, widespread tree and structural damage indicated EF-2 to EF-3 damage. At this point, the damage path began to widen to one third of a mile.
After crossing Highway 60 just south of New Pekin, tremendous structural damage was surveyed. A large well-constructed factory building was cleared to its foundation slab with numerous anchoring bolts bent and stripped. Debris from this building was observed up to three quarters of a mile downstream. Large power poles were snapped. Another metal out building on the edge of the circulation had sheeting pulled off, apparently from the force of inbound winds towards the circulation. In this area 5 people were killed in a mobile home. Damage suggested an EF-4 tornado with a width of three to four tenths of a mile and estimated winds of 170 mph.
The tornado then traveled along the border between Washington and Crawford counties where it caused widespread destruction southeast of Hurst and along East Daisy Hill Road in the county.  Here, a well constructed one story brick home at the top of a ridge was completely destroyed with no wall left standing. Witnesses described the funnel as a black wall. A heavy semi trailer cab was blown from this house and landed near another destroyed brick home. Damage to these homes suggested EF-4 winds of 170 mph. Near the intersection of East Daisy Hill and Williams Knob Roads, a home and two anchored double wide trailers were destroyed. A car was lifted and fell 100 yards away from its original driveway. The width of the damage path along the county line was up to one half mile, although the concentrated damage path was much more narrow. Overall, the twister traveled 17 miles in Washington county, felling thousands of trees in addition to destroying scores of buildings.

Hail in ORANGE, INDIANA
From 02-MAR-12 14:52:00 to 02-MAR-12 14:52:00 (EST-5)
Location: VALEENE
Magnitude: 1.75 
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Emergency Manager

The half-dollar sized hail reported from the Emergency Manager came from the second of two supercells that crossed the county.

Hail in CRAWFORD, INDIANA
From 02-MAR-12 14:36:00 to 02-MAR-12 14:36:00 (EST-5)
Location: ENGLISH
Magnitude: 1.75 
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Hail in DUBOIS, INDIANA
From 02-MAR-12 14:37:00 to 02-MAR-12 14:37:00 (EST-5)
Location: ST ANTHONY
Magnitude: 1.75 
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

This hail fell from the second supercell that crossed Dubois County.

Hail in WASHINGTON, INDIANA
From 02-MAR-12 15:13:00 to 02-MAR-12 15:13:00 (EST-5)
Location: FREDDRICKSBURG
Magnitude: 2.00 
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Hail in WASHINGTON, INDIANA
From 02-MAR-12 15:22:00 to 02-MAR-12 15:22:00 (EST-5)
Location: NEW PEKIN
Magnitude: 2.75 
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Public

Baseball sized hail from the second of two supercells that affected New Pekin damaged many cars and buildings.

Hail in WASHINGTON, INDIANA
From 02-MAR-12 15:23:00 to 02-MAR-12 15:23:00 (EST-5)
Location: NEW PEKIN
Magnitude: 2.75 
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

This hail came from the second of two supercells that traversed essentially the same path.

Hail in CLARK, INDIANA
From 02-MAR-12 15:37:00 to 02-MAR-12 15:37:00 (EST-5)
Location: OTISCO
Magnitude: 3.00 
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Sporadic baseball sized fell, denting a vehicle in the driveway.

Hail in WASHINGTON, INDIANA
From 02-MAR-12 15:28:00 to 02-MAR-12 15:28:00 (EST-5)
Location: NEW PEKIN
Magnitude: 1.75 
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

Tornado in CLARK, INDIANA
From 02-MAR-12 15:30:00 to 02-MAR-12 15:36:00 (EST-5)
Location: BLUE LICK
Tornado F-scale: EF1
Property damage: 300.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: NWS Storm Survey

Interviews with witnesses helped the NWS damage survey team determine that a second tornado developed to the west southwest of Henryville and moved along a 6 mile track that almost perfectly covered a portion of the track of a previous violent tornado around 15 minutes earlier. The second tornado was associated with a large supercell that brought softball sized hail just to the north of its tornado track. This tornado had intermittent contact with the ground, first touching down and causing tree damage to Round Knob in the Clark State Forest. Damage was then observed along and west of Speith Road, located just southwest of Henryville.  Finally the tornado lifted after doing damage along the south side of Henryville from Robyn Avenue to near the intersection of Highway 60 and Haddox Road.

Tornado in SCOTT, INDIANA
From 02-MAR-12 15:25:00 to 02-MAR-12 15:26:00 (EST-5)
Location: NABB
Tornado F-scale: EF4
Property damage: 500.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: NWS Storm Survey

After exiting Clark County as an EF-4, this one-third mile wide tornado tracked for only six tenths of a mile across extreme southeastern Scott County before entering Jefferson County between the eastern endpoint of County Road 550 South and State Route 362.
Despite its limited distance in Scott County, however, the tornado proved to be deadly, taking the life of a 72 year old man who was in his frame home residence on State Route 362 east of Kelly Bottom Road, where two other wood frame homes were also severely damaged and 5 mobile homes completely destroyed. This damage proved consistent with 170 mph winds.

Tornado in JEFFERSON, INDIANA
From 02-MAR-12 15:26:00 to 02-MAR-12 15:34:00 (EST-5)
Location: CHELSEA
Tornado F-scale: EF4
Property damage: 750.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: NWS Storm Survey

The tornado entered Jefferson County as an EF-4 with a damage width of one-third of a mile. Several mobile homes were destroyed along and just north of State Highway 362 near the three-county intersection with Clark and Scott Counties. The tornado severely damaged several frame houses here, extensively damaged many power poles and power lines, and felled many trees.
After snapping trees and power poles along County Road 850, the tornado did a tremendous amount of damage around 2 miles south of Chelsea near the intersection of State Highway 62 and Swan Road.  Here, several well built brick homes were destroyed.  The homes had anchor bolts attached to steel plates and a concrete foundation.  One home was lifted and slide 65 yards off its foundation while still remaining essentially intact.  Another home was demolished and thrown several hundred yards downwind.  Three fatalities occurred at this location.  Two vehicles from the garage of this home were tossed for several dozen yards.  A third well-built brick home had its roof lifted and thrown over 300 yards, and an above-ground pool filled with water was missing.  Wind speeds were estimated at around 170 mph with a damage width of one quarter of a mile.
Through the rest of Jefferson county, the tornado did extensive damage to forests as it tracked to the north of Paynesville and south of Lee Bottom.  The damage path narrowed to 200 yards before exiting Jefferson County and moving over the Ohio River.

Thunderstorm Wind in CLARK, INDIANA
From 02-MAR-12 16:15:00 to 02-MAR-12 16:15:00 (EST-5)
Location: CHARLESTOWN
Magnitude: 52.00 MG
Property damage: 0.00K
Crop damage: 0.00K
Reported by: Trained Spotter

A spotter measured a gust of 60 mph within a squall line that followed two earlier supercells that moved to the north of Charlestown.