April 11, 1965 Palm Sunday Tornado Outbreak

Today marks the anniversary of the 1965 Palm Sunday tornado outbreak - not only one of the worst tornado events in U.S. history but also Indiana history.  In Indiana, 137 people were killed and nearly 2000 were injured as a series of violent tornadoes impacted the northern and central part of the state.

Although tornado records are more limited farther back in time, there are some data available for Indiana tornadoes going back approximately 200 years.  During that time, few events have even come close to competing with the 1965 outbreak in terms of fatalities, number of killer tornadoes and number of violent tornadoes.  The deadliest tornado outbreaks in Indiana history are as follows:

1.  April 11, 1965:  137

2.  March 18, 1925:  75 (actual number may be slightly higher)

3.  April 3, 1974:  47

# of killer tornadoes:

1.  April 3, 1974:  8
2.  April 11, 1965:  7
3.  June 30, 1877;  June 14, 1880;  April 17, 1922:  4


# of violent tornadoes (F4 or greater):

1.  April 3, 1974:  9
2.  April 11, 1965:  8
3.  June 2, 1990:  5


To put the April 11, 1965 Indiana death toll in perspective, more people were killed in less than 4 hours than in the entire 40 year period prior to that.  The outbreak is also responsible for slightly more than half of our tornado deaths from 1950-2012.

In all, ten tornadoes were confirmed in Indiana.  The first tornado touched down around 5:45 PM in Starke county.  It moved from 3 miles southwest of Hamlet, passed across Koontz Lake and ended about 5 miles south of Elkhart.  Numerous homes and cottages were destroyed.

The second tornado touched down in St. Joseph county about 5 miles southwest of Wakarusa.  The tornado developed a double funnel structure as it crossed US 33 between Elkhart and Goshen.  Numerous deaths occurred at the Midway Trailer Court as many trailers were destroyed.  Additional deaths occurred in the Middlebury area as homes were leveled and swept away.  Elkhart Truth reporter Paul Huffman took a series of photographs, unknowingly capturing what would become the iconic image of this outbreak (the double funnel) and perhaps one of the most spectacular tornado photographs ever taken.  Huffman was standing in the shoulder of US 33 when the famous picture was shot.






Click For Larger Image




The third tornado affected Porter and La Porte counties, moving from Morgan Township to just beyond South Center.  Homes were heavily damaged southwest of Wanatah.  Other homes and barns were destroyed south of Kingsford Heights. 

The fourth tornado touched down southeast of Goshen in Elkhart county and ended near Brighton.  Most of the deaths occurred in the Rainbow Lake and Shore areas, where intensity was near F5.

The fifth tornado touched down in northwest Steuben county before moving into Michigan.  All of the deaths and most of the damage occurred in Michigan.

The sixth tornado, the first of the day to impact central Indiana, occurred in Tippecanoe and Clinton counties.  This tornado is often listed as touching down southeast of Lafayette but tornado damage may have started as far west as Odell.  A few homes were leveled at Mulberry and Moran with the worst damage occurring in Clinton county.

The seventh tornado touched down south of South Bend, passing through parts of St. Joseph, Elkhart and LaGrange counties.  Many people were killed at Dunlap as the Sunnyside and Kingston Heights housing developments were devastated.

The eighth tornado touched down in Montgomery county southeast of Crawfordsville.  This tornado affected parts of three counties - Montgomery, Boone and Hamilton.  The funnel cut a mile wide swath north of Lebanon, destroying dozens of homes and killing several people.  Additional deaths occurred around Sheridan before the tornado dissipated south of Arcadia.

The ninth tornado of the day touched down just southwest of Russiaville, heavily damaging much of that town.  Near Alto and Kokomo, the funnel widened to about 1 mile and destroyed dozens of homes.   Additional homes were leveled along the track before the tornado finally dissipated in Grant county north of Arcana.   


The tenth and final tornado to impact Indiana touched down in Blackford county near the town of Roll.  Heavy damage occurred in Wells county near Keystone and near Linn Grove in Adams county.  The tornado then moved into Ohio.

Map of Tornado Tracks



Tornado narratives and pre-1950 data obtained from:
Thomas P. Grazulis, Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991 (Environmental Films, 1993).

























Top 10 Tornadoes Since 1950

#6 - April 11, 1965 Crawfordsville to Arcadia Tornado


This very impressive tornado killed 28, injured over 120, and was on the ground for 45 miles. It was reportedly up to a mile wide.

July 25, 1875 Tornadoes

Today, we take a trip in the time machine back to July 25, 1875.  Little is known about this severe weather event, but it appears there were at least 4 tornadoes.  Two of them were killers - one which struck the Fountain County community of Harveysburg and the other near the Boone/Hendricks county line just southwest of Fayette.  At least 4 people were killed and 14 injured.

A History Of July 4 Tornadoes

July 4 is a day that we celebrate by lighting off fireworks, but nature has been known to occasionally provide its own fireworks with tornadoes and other forms of severe weather here.  I was curious to find out just how common Independence Day tornadoes have been over the years.  Although I browsed tornado records back to the 1800's, I could not find any July 4 tornadoes before 1957.  This seems rather improbable and is likely due to poor documentation in earlier years, but I can only post what I know.  I found a total of 7 tornadoes and they are listed and mapped below.  In one instance there was a discrepancy with location which I have noted.

Recalling The Nation's Biggest Tornado Outbreak On Record...The 1974 Super Outbreak

April 3, 1974 is a date that those in the weather community will always remember.  It was an unseasonably warm day as a strong low pressure moved through the Corn Belt.  This unseasonably warm air and a combination of several other factors would come together just right to produce a spectacular severe weather event, leaving hundreds dead, thousands wounded and an incredible amount of destruction across a number of states. 

The first tornado in the state touched down in Boone county in the early morning.  21 of the 148 tornadoes occurred here, including 1 F5 and the devastating Monticello tornado.  The thunderstorm cell which produced the Monticello tornado produced its first Indiana touchdown near the Illinois state line in rural Warren county.  This tornado died out but was followed by another touchdown in Warren county.  That tornado tracked northeastward into southeastern Benton county before dissipating near Otterbein.  Another tornado followed almost immediately, moving quickly northeast through the northwestern part of Tippecanoe county and into White county.  As the tornado passed northwest of Lafayette, the 2200z METAR from KLAF included a report of a tornado:

METAR KLAF 032200Z 16025G33KT 7SM TS SCT040 BKN070 OVC150 23/17 A2914 RMK TB44 W MOVG E LTGIC W-N PRESFRLAF3/16 STATE POLICE RPT AT 2151 5TORNADO SLP864 T02280172

The tornado continued through mostly rural areas of White county before taking aim on downtown Monticello.  Heavy damage occurred in Monticello with several fatalities.  But it was not done...

The tornado continued northeastward through Cass county and Fulton county, where it produced significant damage in Rochester.  It proceeded through Kosciusko, Noble and LaGrange counties before finally ending its incredible 109 mile reign of terror near Oliver Lake.  The same thunderstorm produced another weaker tornado near Plato, which would be the final tornado in Indiana from this particular thunderstorm.

In all, 47 Hoosiers died that tragic day with hundreds more injured.




Approximate Tornado Tracks