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.






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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).

























March 23, 1917 Tornadoes

On this date in 1917, at least 7 tornadoes struck parts of central and southern Indiana.  A brief summary of each tornado is provided below.

The first tornado touched down during the early afternoon in Illinois before crossing into Sullivan county.  This tornado damaged dozens of farm buildings.  No fatalities occurred on the Indiana side, but 1 man was killed in Illinois.

The second tornado touched down in Hendricks county.  Tracking northeast, it passed near Pittsboro and damaged numerous homes.

The third tornado touched down in Grant county north of Swayzee, unroofing a home and destroying a barn.

The fourth tornado touched down southwest of Preble in Adams county.  This tornado damaged several homes and unroofed a school, injuring 7 students.

The fifth tornado was by far the worst of the day and remains one of the most significant tornadoes to ever strike Indiana.  It touched down in Floyd county and moved ENE through New Albany.  The tornado cut a wide swath through the northern part of the city, destroying 300 homes and many other buildings.  Several deaths occurred at the Olden Street School and some children were killed on their way home from school.  45 people were killed in New Albany - one of the highest single town death tolls from a tornado in state history.  The tornado then passed into Jefferson county Kentucky. 

The sixth tornado touched down in Delaware county, destroying two barns and a house southeast of Desoto. 

The seventh tornado touched down in Harrison county.  It passed just north of Corydon, damaging many farms.  There has been some speculation that this tornado may have been the same tornado that struck New Albany, but we may never know for sure.


Source:

Thomas P. Grazulis, Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991 (Environmental Films, 1993).

November 15, 2005 Tornadoes

Four tornadoes struck the state on this date in 2005.  Two of them were rated F3 and produced over 30 injuries but fortunately no fatalities.

The first F3 tornado touched down in Daviess county near Washington and proceeded northeast for 12 miles, lifting at Crane Naval Base in Martin County. The tornado was up to 1/4 mile wide at times. The worst damage occurred 4 miles northeast of Montgomery. Despite the amount of damage, only one of the 31 reported injuries was considered serious.  The tornado was only on the ground for 2 miles in Martin County, and was significantly weaker and smaller.

An F1 tornado touched down briefly in northern Lawrence county, damaging two homes. This tornado came from the same supercell that spawned a F3 tornado in Daviess and Martin counties.  The tornado had a path length of 0.2 miles.

The third tornado, F3, touched down in northern Bartholomew county and continued into southeast Shelby county, where it would do the majority of its damage. No one was killed by this powerful tornado, despite areas of severe damage, and only one minor injury was reported. A resident sustained an ankle injury when moving quickly down into his basement with his family to take cover. The worst damage along the tornado's path took place along and near Vandalia Road just east of the town of Geneva, where a large hog farm was severely damaged, and an old farm house was blown off its foundation. The structural integrity of the destroyed home was insufficient to justify a violent rating. Around 25 properties were damaged in this largely rural area, with six declared total losses.
 
The fourth and final tornado touched down in Grant county southwest of the intersection of county roads 200 north and 600 east, traveled northeast and lifted near the intersection of county roads 400 north and 800 east. Damage was confined to a house suffering roof damage, several trees and power lines and grain elevator augers being overturned. The tornado crossed Interstate 69, just north of mile marker 66, which resulted in a semi truck being blown off the highway.  This tornado was rated F1 and had a path length of 3 miles.

Top 10 Tornadoes Since 1950

#2 - April 11, 1965 Russiaville to Greentown Tornado


Beginning in Clinton county, this tornado heavily damaged the town of Russiaville before proceeding northeast. It went on to cause significant damage on the south side of Kokomo and then Greentown. In all, 25 were killed and over 800 were injured by this F4 which was on the ground for nearly 50 miles.