IN · Tornado Data

Indiana Tornado History

Name: Indiana Tornado History Dataset
Creator: NOAA Storm Prediction Center
License: https://www.spc.noaa.gov/wcm/

Every recorded tornado in Indiana from 1950 to present, with counts, fatalities, EF ratings, and notable events — sourced from the NOAA Storm Prediction Center.

Total tornadoes

1,662

since 1950

F5 / EF5 events

most violent

Total deaths

272

all events

Total injuries

4,622

all events

Avg per year

1950–2024

Deadliest year

1965

162 deaths

Most active year

2011

72 tornadoes

Peak month

Jun

most tornadoes

Indiana is a bigger tornado state than its Great Lakes reputation suggests. Since 1950 the NOAA Storm Prediction Center has logged 1,662 tornadoes in Indiana — with 272 deaths and more than 4,600 injuries, a toll heavier than most people associate with a Midwestern state north of the classic Tornado Alley. Indiana has recorded two F5 tornadoes, the strongest rating on the scale, and both fell on the same afternoon: April 3, 1974, the Super Outbreak. The state's grief is strikingly concentrated. Its five deadliest tornadoes all struck on a single day — the Palm Sunday outbreak of April 11, 1965 — and its worst single tornado, an F4 that carved 121 miles across northern Indiana, came nine years later in 1974. And there is a genuine surprise buried in the monthly numbers: Indiana's busiest tornado month is not April or May but June, an early-summer secondary season that catches many residents off guard.

The Tornado Climate of Indiana

Indiana sits at the northeastern edge of the corridor where Great Plains tornado dynamics hand off to the Ohio Valley and the emerging "Dixie Alley" pattern to the south. Its tornado climate is driven by the same basic collision that powers Plains outbreaks — warm, moist air streaming north from the Gulf of Mexico undercut by cooler, drier air riding the jet stream — but the geography changes the timing and the character of the storms. The state has a long spring season that builds from March through May, when strong cold fronts and low-pressure systems sweep across the Midwest and set off supercells along sharp warm fronts. This is when Indiana's most violent, long-tracked tornadoes have occurred, including both the 1965 Palm Sunday and 1974 Super Outbreak events. But Indiana's single busiest month by raw count is June (355 tornadoes since 1950), ahead of April (291) and May (286). June tornadoes are more often spawned by warm-sector thunderstorms, bow echoes and derechos than by classic dryline supercells — frequently numerous but on average less violent than the early-spring killers. That June peak is the fact almost no competing summary of Indiana tornadoes states, and it matters for how residents should think about their risk: the danger does not switch off when spring ends. Two afternoons define Indiana's tornado history. The Palm Sunday outbreak of April 11, 1965 remains the state's deadliest day by an enormous margin — Indiana's five deadliest tornadoes on record all struck that afternoon, killing 36, 31, 28, 25 and 23 people respectively as multiple violent tornadoes tore across the northern half of the state. The Palm Sunday outbreak reshaped severe-weather policy nationally, exposing fatal gaps in the warning system and leading directly to the modern tornado watch/warning framework and the spread of NOAA Weather Radio. Nine years later, the April 3, 1974 Super Outbreak — the largest outbreak of the 20th century — hit Indiana with both of the state's only F5 tornadoes. One, the Depauw–Martinsburg F5, tracked roughly 68 miles across southern Indiana and killed six, at times moving without a visible condensation funnel despite its extreme intensity. A second SPC-rated F5 carved a shorter but ferocious path near the Ohio border, injuring more than 200. The deadliest single Indiana tornado of that outbreak, though, was an F4: the Monticello–Rochester tornado, which killed 18 people and crossed roughly the entire width of the state on a path over 100 miles long. More recently, the March 2, 2012 outbreak sent an EF4 through Henryville in southern Indiana, killing 11 in the state and destroying the town's school. All figures here are drawn from the SPC database, which runs slightly below press tallies because it counts some tornado segments and county crossings differently.

Notable Indiana Tornadoes

F4Apr 11, 1965

1965 Palm Sunday outbreak (northern Indiana)

36 deaths

F4Apr 3, 1974

1974 Monticello–Rochester tornado (Super Outbreak)

18 deaths

EF4Mar 2, 2012

2012 Henryville tornado

11 deaths

F5Apr 3, 1974

1974 Depauw–Martinsburg tornado (one of two Indiana F5s)

6 deaths

F5Apr 3, 1974

1974 southeastern Indiana F5 (near the Ohio border)

3 deaths

Seasonality

Indiana's tornado season is longer and later than the Plains stereotype. Activity ramps up in March (158 tornadoes since 1950) and peaks across a broad April–June window — but the single busiest month is June (355), ahead of April (291) and May (286). This early-summer peak is a real, counter-intuitive feature of Indiana climatology: June storms are often warm-sector thunderstorm clusters and derechos rather than the discrete supercells of spring. July (169) and August (109) keep a lower-grade threat alive through the summer, and a small November uptick (83) reflects late-season frontal systems. The violent, deadly tornadoes, however, cluster in spring — both of the state's defining outbreaks (Palm Sunday 1965, Super Outbreak 1974) came in April.

Jan23

Feb38

Mar158

Apr291

May286

Jun355

Jul169

Aug109

Sep56

Oct71

Nov83

Dec23

Monthly distribution of all recorded Indiana tornadoes since 1950.

Top 10 Deadliest Indiana Tornadoes

Date	Rating	Deaths	Injuries	Path
April 11, 1965	F4	36	321	37.0 mi
April 11, 1965	F4	31	252	21.2 mi
April 11, 1965	F4	28	123	45.7 mi
April 11, 1965	F4	25	835	48.0 mi
April 11, 1965	F4	23	294	90.3 mi
April 3, 1974	F4	18	285	108.7 mi
April 3, 1974	F4	11	190	35.6 mi
March 2, 2012	EF4	11	0	45.0 mi
April 11, 1965	F3	10	82	35.6 mi
April 3, 1974	F5	6	86	68.0 mi

Annual Tornado Counts

19502024

Hover a bar for the year-specific count. Reporting improved significantly with Doppler radar deployment in the 1990s, inflating modern counts relative to pre-1990s.

Regional Patterns

Tornadoes have struck every part of Indiana, but the risk is not uniform. Central and southern Indiana — including the Indianapolis metro and the corridor down toward the Ohio River — record the most tornadoes and have absorbed the state's worst violent events, from the 1974 Depauw–Martinsburg and Henryville tracks to the long central-Indiana paths of the Super Outbreak. Northern Indiana, near the Elkhart–South Bend area, was the epicenter of the 1965 Palm Sunday disaster. Flat terrain across most of the state offers little to disrupt a mature supercell, and the mix of rural farmland and spread-out communities means long-tracked tornadoes can run for dozens of miles. Indiana's busiest year on record is 2011 (72 tornadoes); 2023 (53) and 2024 (52) were both well above average, keeping tornado risk a live year-round concern for the state.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many tornadoes does Indiana get each year?

Indiana has averaged roughly 22 tornadoes per year since 1950, totaling about 1,662 in the SPC database. Yearly counts swing widely — the record is 72 in 2011, and both 2023 (53) and 2024 (52) ran well above average. Most Indiana tornadoes are rated EF0 or EF1, but the state has produced some of the most violent tornadoes in US history.

Has Indiana ever had an F5 or EF5 tornado?

Yes — two, and both occurred on the same day: April 3, 1974, during the Super Outbreak. One F5 tracked about 68 miles across southern Indiana through Depauw and Martinsburg, killing six; a second SPC-rated F5 struck near the Ohio border and injured more than 200. Indiana has not recorded an F5 or EF5 since.

What was the deadliest tornado in Indiana history?

Indiana's five deadliest tornadoes all struck on the same afternoon: the Palm Sunday outbreak of April 11, 1965, which killed 36, 31, 28, 25 and 23 people in separate tornadoes across the northern half of the state. The single deadliest tornado since then was the Monticello–Rochester F4 of the 1974 Super Outbreak, which killed 18.

When is tornado season in Indiana?

Indiana's tornado risk runs from March through the summer. Peak activity spans April through June, and — surprisingly — June is actually the busiest month by count, driven by summer thunderstorm clusters and derechos. The most violent, deadly tornadoes, though, have come in April. A smaller secondary uptick occurs in November.

How many tornadoes has Indiana had since 1950?

Indiana has recorded 1,662 tornadoes from 1950 through the most recent NOAA SPC dataset update. The state averages approximately 22 tornadoes per year. 2 of these tornadoes were rated F5 or EF5 — the highest rating on the scale. The deadliest year on record was 1965, with 162 deaths, and the most active year was 2011 with 72 tornadoes.

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Data: NOAA Storm Prediction Center 1950–present tornado database. Counts and fatality totals reflect official post-event damage assessments. Current-year tornadoes may appear as preliminary until NWS surveys are finalized.