National Weather Service United States Department of Commerce

Dangerous Heat in the Southwest; Severe Thunderstorms from the Central Plains into the Ohio Valley

Dangerous heat will build across the Southwest U.S. through the end of the week with daytime highs of 110-115°F. Isolated to widely scattered severe storms are expected across parts of the central and southern High Plains, Great Lakes into the Ohio Valley, and parts of the Ozarks to Lower Mississippi Valley today. Read More >

July 29, 1943
Counties:  Clark, IN
F-scale:   F3
Deaths:  0
Injuries:  25
Path width:  300 yards
Path length:  7 miles
Time:  7:00pm
Narrative:  After damaging a farm one mile west of Charlestown, the tornado moved into the village.  The twister first struck Pleasant Ridge on the southwest side of town, which was a neighborhood of pre-fab housing built for war effort employees.  Sixty-five homes were unroofed, shifted, or blown apart, and seven people were badly hurt.  The tornado sounded like "a dozen freight trains crossing a trestle."  It then proceeded through the center of Charlestown and removed several roofs.  The tornado was about three blocks wide in Charlestown.  Debris could be seen in the air swirling around the funnel.