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).

























November 22, 1992 Tornado Outbreak

Today is the anniversary of the November 22, 1992 tornado outbreak.  This outbreak spawned 15 tornadoes in central Indiana and is the largest November tornado outbreak on record here.  Here is a writeup from the NWS in Indianapolis:

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/ind/?n=nov22_1992tor

September 20, 2002 Tornadoes

Today marks the 9 year anniversary of the September 20, 2002 tornado outbreak.  When we think about local tornado climatology, we don't tend to think of September as being an active month.  The events of September 20, 2002 - and one tornado in particular - would turn climatology on its head.

The first of 6 tornadoes touched down in Posey county at 9:40 AM local time.  It was on the ground for less than a quarter mile and caused no significant damage.  The same thunderstorm would produce a stronger F2 tornado near Poseyville at 9:50 AM local time.  This tornado destroyed 10 mobile homes and 4 other buildings and had a path length just under 5 miles.

After a break, another tornado would form in northwestern Pike county and move into Knox and Daviess counties.  In Knox county, the tornado destroyed a few homes and damaged several others and peaked at F2 intensity.  A conservation officer in his vehicle was thrown an eighth of a mile by the tornado.  The tornado weakened to F0 as it moved into Daviess county, finally lifting after being on the ground for over 13 miles.

After another break in the action, the most notable tornado of the day touched down in Ellettsville at 12:59 PM local time and started producing F3 damage shortly thereafter.  After weakening and heading northeast into Morgan county, the tornado reintensified and produced more F3 damage in Martinsville.  The tornado remained at F2-F3 strength as it continued northeast into Johnson and Marion counties, producing additional F3 damage at Greenwood.  The tornado took a slight left turn and entered the city of Indianapolis around 1:45 PM, generally producing F1-F2 damage on its trek through the southern and eastern portions of the city.  The tornado exited Marion county just after 2 PM and continued northeast through several more counties, producing its final damage in Hartford City at 3:20 PM.  In all, about 130 people were injured by this tornado with damage in excess of $150 million.

2 other tornadoes occurred simultaneous to the long track tornado.  One of them damaged 10 single family homes and 30 mobile homes in Henry county and was rated F2.  The other tornado destroyed 2 barns and 2 mobile homes in Rush county and was rated F0.

This event probably would've been forgettable were it not for the long-tracked F3 tornado.  This tornado is interesting in several respects:

1) Its path length of 112 miles makes it one of the longest tracked tornadoes to ever hit the state (reanalysis of the April 3, 1974 Monticello tornado reduced the path length from 121 to 108 miles).  The tornado was on the ground for a total of 2 hours and 21 minutes, giving it an average forward speed of about 48 miles per hour.

2) The tornado passed through 9 counties, second most behind the April 3, 1974 Monticello tornado

3) It is the second longest tornado to hit the United States in the month of September since 1950

4) The tornado did not occur as part of a discrete supercell; rather, it formed along a QLCS/squall line

5) Although the tornado was rain-wrapped much of the time and passed through urbanized areas, no deaths occurred      


Here is a map of the tornado paths courtesy of NWS Indianapolis (note:  Posey county tracks not included)

September 12, 1988 Indianapolis Tornado

Still waiting for the May Storm Data to come in so the May tornado statistics can be finalized.  Hopefully this occurs sometime in the next couple weeks.

Anyway, since posts have been lacking as of late, I thought I'd mention that today is the anniversary of a F1 tornado that hit Indianapolis.  The tornado began on the north side of the city and moved northeast through Marion, Hamilton and Madison counties.  Roofs and automobiles were reportedly damaged along the path.  The tornado caused intermittent damage over a path length of about 35 miles and resulted in 1 injury. 

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.

Top 10 Tornadoes Since 1950

#7 - September 20, 2002 Ellettsville to Hartford City Tornado



This is probably one of the lesser known tornadoes but that doesn't mean it wasn't impressive. It was on the ground for 2 hours and 21 minutes and traveled 112 miles and charged through the south and east side of Indianapolis.  Fortunately, there were no fatalities but over 100 people were injured. This tornado was rated F3 and caused over $100 million in damage.