Indiana Tornado Climatology

Specific tornado information for Central Indiana follows below. Records for all of Indiana can be found farther down the page.

Central Indiana Tornadoes, 1950-2020*

 Click on county of interest for specific information

 * Data through 12/31/2020 is currently available

Times listed on the individual pages are in Eastern Standard Time on a 24 hour clock, e.g.  0400 = 4:00 AM and 2000 = 8:00 PM
Locations listed are approximate.

Indiana State Tornado Records (1950-2021)

Indiana averages 22 tornadoes per year

Most Tornadoes

• In a Single Year: 72 in 2011
• In a Single Month: 44 in June 1990
• In a Single Day: 37 on June 2, 1990
• List of Top Indiana Tornado Outbreaks

Most Intense

Three F5 tornadoes occurred within the April 3, 1974 Super Outbreak, all in far southern Indiana...

1. Crossed 6 Indiana counties from Perry to Scott, killing 6 and injuring 86 others
2. Crossed from Kentucky (where it killed 31) into Harrison County (no casualties)
3. Crossed from Ohio County Indiana (no casualties) into Kentucky and Ohio, injuring 210

Longest Tracks

Tornadoes Only in Indiana:

• 112 miles on September 20, 2002. The F3 tornado crossed 9 counties, injuring 127
• 109 miles on April 3, 1974. The F4 "Monticello Tornado" crossed 8 counties, killing 18 and injuring 285

Multi-State Tornadoes that Included Indiana

• 219 miles (Missouri-Illinois-Indiana) on March 18, 1925. The F5 "Tri-State Tornado" crossed 3 counties in Indiana
• 120 miles (Illinois-Indiana) on April 9, 1953. The F3 tornado killed 2 and injured 12 crossed 5 counties in Indiana

Widest Vortex

Four tornadoes on record had a maximum path width of 1.0 mile...

• June 21, 1951: The F3 tornado struck Pulaski and Fulton Counties, had a path length of 5.4 miles, and injured 4
• July 9, 1951: The F2 tornado struck Howard County, had a path length of 1.0 mile, and caused no injuries
• April 3, 1974: The F4 tornado struck Fulton and Kosciusko Counties, had a path length of 24.1 miles, and caused 6 deaths and 138 injuries
• October 24, 2001: The F2 tornado struck LaPorte County, had a path length of 33 miles, and caused 1 death

Fatality Statistics

Total Since 1950: 266 fatalities.
 

Deadliest Outbreaks

April 11, 1965 (Palm Sunday Outbreak)...137 fatalities (52% of all since 1950). Seven killer tornadoes, and 4 of those had 25 or more fatalities:

• 36 dead in an F4 tornado in St Joseph, Elkhart, and LaGrange Counties
• 31 dead in an F4 tornado in Elkhart County
• 28 dead in an F4 tornado in Montgomery, Boone, and Hamilton Counties
• 25 dead in an F4 tornado in Clinton, Howard, and Grant Counties ("Kokomo Tornado")

April 3, 1974 Super Outbreak...47 fatalities (18% of all since 1950). Eight killer tornadoes, and 2 of those had 11 or more fatalities:

• 18 dead in an F4 tornado ("Monticello Tornado") that crossed 8 counties
• 11 dead in an F4 tornado that crossed Scott, Jefferson, and Ripley Counties

From a Single Tornado

36 killed in an F4 tornado in St Joseph, Elkhart, and LaGrange Counties on April 11, 1965

Injury Statistics

Total Since 1950: 4,291

From a Single Tornado: 835 injuries from the April 11, 1965 F4 "Kokomo"  tornado that struck Clinton, Howard, and Grant Counties

Adding all Casualties from the two deadliest outbreaks (April 11, 1965 and April 3, 1974) account for roughly two thirds of the totals since 1950: 70% of all fatalities, 61% of all injuries

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