NWS Confirms Tornado In Hendricks And Marion Counties

A weak tornado of EF1 intensity and winds estimated from 90 to 100 mph caused damage along an approximate two mile path in Plainfield and Indianapolis Tuesday afternoon June 24th.  The tornado touched down near Perry Road and US40 in Plainfield at approximately 232 PM EDT.  The first significant damage occurred at a vehicle auction facility with one building heavily damaged and over 200 cars impacted by flying debris. Minor straight-line wind tree damage was observed west of the auction facility near Township Line Road and Smith Road.  The tornado traveled northeast causing damage to nearly two dozen homes in Hendricks County with the most severe damage along County Road 200S near County Road 1050E.  At this location the tornado lofted a camping trailer into the air and tossed it approximately 175 feet to the east onto a house and also removed a substantial portion of that houses roof.  This damage was rated EF1 with winds estimated at 95 to 100 mph.

The tornado continued tracking northeast through the Bentwood subdivision in east Hendricks County and into the Cameron Meadows subdivision of Indianapolis. The most significant damage in Indianapolis was along Raceway Road near Blue Pine Drive where a couple homes had portions of their roofs removed by the tornado. This damage was rated EF1 with winds estimated near 97 mph.  The tornado lifted at approximately 240 PM EDT in this subdivision though intermittent straight-line wind damage to trees occurred from here to near Rockville Road and I-465 all the way to the town of Speedway.
Indianapolis officials estimated 75 to 100 homes received at least minor damage in Indianapolis. Also, including the automobiles damaged at the auto auction center, more than 200 vehicles sustained varying degrees of damage.

more here:

http://www.crh.noaa.gov/news/display_cmsstory.php?wfo=ind&storyid=103059&source=0

NWS Confirms Tornadoes In Hendricks And Putnam Counties

The NWS in Indianapolis has confirmed 2 tornadoes occurred during the early morning hours of May 21:


A NWS Indianapolis storm damage survey today identified at least one weak tornado occurring west of Brownsburg near North Salem in the storms early Tuesday morning.  Toppled trees, snapped limbs, and damage to a barn revealed evidence of rotation in the winds and damage consistent with an EF0 tornado with winds up to 85 mph.  The tornado occurred around 2:40 A.M. May 21 and was part of a large line of storms that swept across central Indiana overnight causing sporadic damage in many areas. 

Surveying in the Roachdale area north of Greencastle also yielded evidence of an EF0 tornado.  This occurred around 2:30 A.M. just south of Roachdale where barn, shed and tree damage were observed suggesting rotating winds of up to 85 mph. This tornado was on the ground for less than a quarter mile.

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).

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.

June 15, 1987 - When Pigs Fly

On June 15, 1987, a F1 tornado touched down northwest of Danville in Hendricks county.  Although this tornado was only on the ground for about a quarter mile, it struck a pig farm and tossed several pigs into the air.