One could forgive Jeff Lyons and other Evansville meteorologists for feeling tired. Mother Nature has thrown winter storms, hail, flooding, and a spate of tornado threats at the Tri-State in just the past five months.
In 2009, Evansville Living asked Lyons and his Channel 14 WFIE colleagues about how weather impacts our daily lives. Sixteen years later, “We seem to be packing more exceptional weather into shorter spans of time in recent years,” Lyons says, noting winter 2025 saw 19.5 inches of snow — the most since 2004 — plus a disruptive ice storm in early January. Late winter and early spring recorded two tornado outbreaks and flooding during one of the 10 wettest Aprils on record. The region saw eight tornadoes on April 2, “many of which crossed paths of the April 2 tornadoes of 2024,” Lyons says. “Seven places experienced a tornado twice in one year. I’ve never seen this in my nearly 40-year career.”
“While 2025 has been exceptional in many ways, we’ve certainly experienced rare events each year or so,” he adds, referencing an unprecedented number of tornadoes in July 2024 that struck in what typically is a quiet month. Citing data from the Midwest Regional Climate Center, Lyons says that since 1957, there had been only 12 weak tornadoes recorded in the Tri-State in the month of July. That changed July 9, 2024, when an EF3 twister struck Mount Vernon, Indiana, one of seven total significant tornadoes in the region that day.
Could wildfires join the list of the area’s weather dangers? “Given the right conditions,” Lyons says. “… We have experienced several droughts in the past 15 years, a couple of which were ‘flash’ droughts, or rapid-onset droughts. … When a rapid onset drought occurs along with hot, dry weather, wildfire risk can rise to the danger level very quickly.”
With wild weather, Lyons’ three-decade meteorology career still is recording firsts: During one live broadcast this spring, Lyons and his production team reported from WFIE’s station shelter during a severe storm — only the third such experience for Lyons.
“We try to practice what we preach,” he says. “… Most of us think the storm will always hit somebody else. It just shows that everyone needs to be prepared and take action when a warning is issued.”
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Lyons spoke at length about the potential for regional forest fires, how federal funding cuts are affecting meteorological teams, having to take shelter during a live broadcast, and more in this extended Q&A.
Evansville Living: Reflecting on the 2009 Evansville Living story “Weather Watch,” what are your biggest takeaways on how weather has changed in 15+ years?
Jeff Lyons: We seem to be packing more exceptional weather into shorter spans of time in recent years. In the past, any given year typically had one big event: Tornadoes, winter storm, drought, heat wave, damaging winds, hail, etc. In the last 15 years, we have seen record-breaking heat, snow, rain and severe weather in a more concentrated way. In 2025, we had a harsh winter with 19.5 inches of snow (the most in a winter since 2004), combined with a disruptive ice storm, then moved right into late winter with two tornado outbreaks and flooding during one of the 10 wettest Aprils on record. The April 2 tornado outbreak produced eight tornadoes, many of which crossed paths of the April 2 tornadoes of 2024. In all, there were seven places that experienced a tornado twice in the span of one year. I’ve never seen this in my nearly 40-year career.
EL: To the casual weather observer, storms seem to be following a similar track throughout Southwestern Indiana: coming into Posey County from Illinois, traveling northwest and cutting through northern Vanderburgh County and southern Gibson County before dissipating soon after. What is causing this familiar storm track?
JL: The “average” or most common path for severe thunderstorms and tornadoes to follow is generally southwest-to-northeast in the typical severe weather setup. There are, of course, exceptions, but I would say this is the most common direction of storm movement here in the Tri-State. Vanderburgh and Gibson counties have experienced two severe weather outbreaks on the same day (April 2) exactly one year apart. The cause of this similar track is related to how the storms formed with the larger system. It’s interesting to note that the April 2, 2024, tornadoes all tracked west-to-east, while the 2025 tornadoes tracked south-to-north. It is likely coincidence that Vanderburgh and Gibson counties caught the brunt of both systems. If you look at historic tornado tracks going back 70 years, you’ll see several different areas that were “hot spots” for a period of time. Northern Gibson and Pike counties in Indiana and Wabash County in Illinois had several tornado tracks in the early 1990s. In Western Kentucky, Hopkins, Muhlenberg, and southern Webster counties have seen many significant tornadoes in recent years, including the record-setting EF4 on Dec. 10, 2021. In looking at 70 years of tornado track data, you’ll also discover that every county in the Tri-State has been hit multiple times by tornadoes.
EL: Are we seeing more “once-in-a-lifetime” weather events? Is it typical to have 3-4 significant weather events within such a short period?
JL: While we have seen a lot of “once-in-a-lifetime” weather events in 2025, we typically have several each year. Think of record high and low temperatures, record rain and snowfall, and extremely early or late season tornadoes. Recent events tend to bias our memories and block out previous significant events. So, while 2025 has been exceptional in many ways, we’ve certainly experienced rare events each year or so. The July 9 tornadoes of 2024 are a good example of an unprecedented number of tornadoes in a typically quiet month. Since 1957, there had only been 12 weak tornadoes in the month of July, and we had an EF3 that hit Mount Vernon, Indiana, along with six other significant tornadoes in just one day. The Dec. 10, 2021, tornado in Western Kentucky was exceptional because of the length of the path and that it happened so late in the year.
EL: During a live broadcast this spring in severe weather, the storm escalated enough that 14 News’ weather team and crew had to move into the station’s storm shelter and report from there for a few minutes. You said it was only the third time in your career that you’ve been forced into the station’s shelter. What did that feel like?
JL: We try to practice what we preach, and when we can feel the wind in the studio and hear stuff hitting the roof or building, we shelter in a safe room adjacent to the studio. The feeling is always one of disbelief, because most of us think the storm will always hit somebody else. It just shows that everyone needs to be prepared and take action when a warning is issued.
EL: Southwestern Indiana has a lot of hardwood forests. What are the changes of wildfires erupting and spreading in our region during dry summer months? Would the Evansville area be able to escape them?
JL: While the city of Evansville would not likely be in peril by wildfires, we could lose areas like Wesselman Woods or Burdette Park if the conditions were dry enough. In the area, we have several forests that would be at risk (Harmonie State Park, Lincoln State Park, Audubon State Park, and Shawnee National Forest, to name a few). Given the right conditions, the chance of devastating wildfires could be just as bad here as in the other places you’ve seen in the media in the past couple of years. We have experienced several droughts in the past 15 years, a couple of which were “flash” droughts, or rapid-onset droughts. These occur in an otherwise wet or normal year when suddenly, rain stops for a couple of months. When a rapid onset drought occurs along with hot, dry weather, wildfire risk can rise to the danger level very quickly.
EL: How are federal funding cuts affecting meteorology teams, tech, prediction, and monitoring?
JL: It remains to be seen how the cuts will ultimately affect the weather enterprise and our ability to forecast and warn for storms and other weather. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is comprised of more than 12,000 scientists who study everything from tornadoes, climate change, wildfires, space weather, and hurricanes, to weather modeling, radar technology, satellite imaging, and remote sensing, to name a few. Each of these teams of scientists and technicians produce data and information that is used in the forecast and warning process at the National Weather Service and within private forecasting firms. The National Weather Service at Paducah, Kentucky, has an extremely dedicated staff of highly educated and motivated meteorologists whose sole mission is to protect life and property. Recent staff cuts across the country and at our Paducah office have eliminated a knowledge base comprised of hundreds of career scientists … men and women who have devoted their lives to public service and protecting the public. This institutional knowledge is not easily replaced and is a tremendous setback to the ongoing work of understanding our planet, the weather, and climate. It makes no sense to me to dismantle or diminish an agency that is so vital to our economy, our safety, and our understanding of the science that governs weather. It is my hope that cooler heads will prevail and that the damage will be repairable, but it may take a generation to get things back on track and moving forward.
