NWS Confirms Additional Tornado From June 30

An additional EF1 tornado has been confirmed from the June 30-July 1 storms.  It occurred northeast of De Motte.  This brings the total number of tornadoes from June 30-July 1 to 15, including one tornado that crossed the border from Illinois.

..TORNADO NORTHEAST OF DE MOTTE IN JASPER COUNTY  
   
  
RATING:                 EF-1  
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND:    90 TO 100 MPH  
PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/:  1 MILE  
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/:   100 YARDS  
FATALITIES:             NONE  
INJURIES:               NONE  
  
START DATE:             JUNE 30 2014  
START TIME:             1055 PM CDT  
START LOCATION:         4 ENE DE MOTTE IN  
START LAT/LON:          41.2230/-87.1280  
  
END DATE:               JUNE 30 2014  
END TIME:               1056 PM CDT  
END LOCATION:           5 ENE DE MOTTE IN  
END LAT/LON:            41.2240/-87.1099  
  
SURVEY SUMMARY:   
  
THIS TORNADO TRACKED ALONG W CR 1450 N WHERE THERE WERE SNAPPED   
TREES...WOOD POWER POLES LEANING AND DAMAGE TO TWO FARMSTEADS.   
ON ONE...THE DOORS COLLAPSED IN A POLE BARN. IN ANOTHER POLE   
BARN...THE WALLS COLLAPSED AFTER THE ROOF WAS BLOWN OFF. THE   
DAMAGE IN THIS TORNADO PATH WAS CONSISTENT WITH MAXIMUM SPEEDS OF   
100-105 MPH.  

NWS Confirms Three Tornadoes In Lake And Jasper Counties

NWS Chicago has confirmed three tornadoes affected their Indiana area of coverage.  One of the tornadoes crossed into Lake county from Kankakee county Illinois with a separate tornado occurring south and east of Lowell.  Finally, a tornado occurred in northern Jasper county near DeMotte.  All of these tornadoes have been rated EF1.

Survey information for the tornado that started in Illinois and crossed into Indiana, followed by the tornado south/east of Lowell and the tornado in the DeMotte area:

TORNADO NORTHEAST OF GRANT PARK ILLINOIS  
  
RATING:                 EF-1  
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND:    105-110 MPH  
PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/:  3.4 MILES  
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/:   200 YARDS  
FATALITIES:             NONE  
INJURIES:               NONE  
  
START DATE:             JUNE 30 2014  
START TIME:             1032 PM CDT  
START LOCATION:         4.3 MILES NORTHEAST OF GRANT PARK  
START LAT/LON:          41.2651/-87.5685  
  
END DATE:               JUNE 30 2014  
END TIME:               1037 PM CDT  
END LOCATION:           4.8 MILES WEST-SOUTHWEST OF LOWELL IN    
END LAT/LON:            41.2841/-87.5080  
  
SURVEY SUMMARY:   
  
THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN NEAR A CHURCH ON COUNTY RD 13...SNAPPING  
HARDWOOD AND SOFTWOOD TREES. A LARGE LIMB SMASHED THROUGH THE  
STAINED GLASS WINDOWS OF THE CHURCH AND THE FORCE OF THIS CAUSED  
DAMAGE TO THE WINDOW FRAME INSIDE THE BUILDING. IN  
ADDITION...LARGE TREE BRANCH IMPALED ITSELF INTO THE CHURCH. A  
DOOR INSIDE THE CHURCH WAS BLOWN OPEN AND RIPPED OFF. THERE WAS  
SOME MINOR STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY DAMAGE NOTED INSIDE THE CHURCH.  
  
THE TORNADO THEN CONTINUED TO N 16750E ROAD...WHERE THE MOST  
SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE ON A FARMSTEAD INCLUDED LARGE HARDWOODS  
SNAPPED...WINDOWS IN THE RESIDENCE BLOWN IN AND THE COMPLETE  
DESTRUCTION OF THREE STORY TALL BARN WITH DIMENSIONS OF 88X60.  
FURTHERMORE..A LARGE BRANCH WAS IMPALED INTO THE FRONT OF THE  
RESIDENCE. THE FEMALE HOMEOWNER REPORTED THE COMMON FREIGHT TRAIN  
SOUND OF A TORNADO AND EXPERIENCED EAR POPPING AS THE TORNADO  
PASSED.   
  
AS THE TORNADO THEN MOVED ALONG E 10500N ROAD...IT CAUSED  
SIGNIFICANT DAMAGE TO AN UNDER CONSTRUCTION BUT SEALED SINGLE  
FAMILY RESIDENCE. A SECTION OF THE ROOF WAS REMOVED...WHICH CAUSED  
A CRACK IN THE FRAME OF THE HOUSE AND A LARGE WALL SECTION  
COLLAPSED OUTWARD. CONSISTENT SNAPPING OR UPROOTING OF TREES WAS  
NOTED IN A CONVERGENT MANNER AS THE TORNADO PATH CONTINUED INTO  
LAKE COUNTY BEFORE ENDING WEST-SOUTHWEST OF LOWELL. ALL OF THE  
MOST INTENSE DAMAGE WITH THIS TORNADO WAS CONSISTENT WITH THAT OF   
A HIGHER END EF-1 TORNADO.  

TORNADO SOUTHEAST OF LOWELL INDIANA  
  
RATING:                 EF-1  
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND:    105-110 MPH   
PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/:  2.4 MILES  
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/:   500 YARDS   
FATALITIES: NONE   
INJURIES: NONE  
  
START DATE:             JUNE 30 2014  
START TIME:             1046 PM CDT  
START LOCATION:         4.2 MILES SOUTHEAST OF LOWELL IN  
START LAT/LON:          41.2683/-87.3452  
  
END DATE:               JUNE 30 2014  
END TIME:               1048 PM CDT  
END LOCATION:           6.1 MILES EAST-SOUTHEAST OF LOWELL IN  
END LAT/LON:            41.2818/-87.3024  
  
SURVEY SUMMARY:   
  
THE TORNADO LIKELY BEGAN IN A FIELD WEST OF HARRISON STREET AND  
TRACKED EAST-NORTHEAST TO NEAR INTERSTATE 65. THE MOST SIGNIFICANT  
DAMAGE NOTED INCLUDED TWO SNAPPED WOODEN POWER POLES AND  
SUBSTANTIALLY DAMAGED GRAIN BINS ON A FARM EAST OF HARRISON STREET  
THAT COULD NOT BE ACCESSED DUE TO DOWNED POWER LINES. AT A  
FARMSTEAD NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF HARRISON STREET AND W 191ST  
AVENUE...A WOODEN BARN WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED...ALONG WITH  
SEVERAL LARGE HARDWOODS AND SOFTWOODS SNAPPED AT THE TRUNK. THE  
DAMAGE WAS CONSISTENT WITH A HIGHER END EF-1 TORNADO.  
  
SOUTH OF THE TORNADO PATH...THERE WAS A WIDE SWATH OF SIGNIFICANT  
STRAIGHT LINE WIND DAMAGE. THIS INCLUDED THE SNAPPING OF SEVEN OR  
EIGHT ADDITIONAL WOODEN POWER POLES ALONG HARRISON  
STREET...SNAPPED TREES AND AN AT LEAST A ONE MILE WIDE SWATH OF  
COMPLETELY FLATTENED CORN CROP. THE STRAIGHT LINE WIND DAMAGE WAS  
SOME OF THE MOST NOTEWORTHY ON THE SURVEY AND WAS CONSISTENT WITH  
WIND SPEEDS OF 100-110 MPH.  

TORNADO IN AND NEAR DE MOTTE INDIANA  
  
RATING:                 EF-1  
ESTIMATED PEAK WIND:    100-105 MPH  
PATH LENGTH /STATUTE/:  8.0 MILES  
PATH WIDTH /MAXIMUM/:   200 YARDS  
FATALITIES:             NONE  
INJURIES:               NONE  
  
START DATE:             JUNE 30 2014  
START TIME:             1049 PM CDT  
START LOCATION:         3.3 MILES WEST OF DE MOTTE IN  
START LAT/LON:          41.1909/-87.2613  
  
END DATE:               JUNE 30 2014  
END TIME:               1056 PM CDT  
END LOCATION:           4.9 MILES NORTHEAST OF DE MOTTE IN  
END LAT/LON:            41.2240/-87.1138  
  
SURVEY SUMMARY:   
  
A 100-200 YARD SWATH OF CONSISTENT TREE DAMAGE...WITH NUMEROUS  
SNAPPED TREES...BEGAN EAST-SOUTHEAST OF DE MOTTE BETWEEN N CR 1150  
W AND N CR 1100 W JUST NORTH OF W CR 1200 N. THE DAMAGE CONTINUED  
EAST-NORTHEAST JUST TO THE EAST AND THEN THROUGH THE CENTER OF DE  
MOTTE NORTH OF 9TH STREET. JUST EAST OF DE MOTTE ALONG ORCHID  
STREET...A BARN WAS COMPLETELY DESTROYED AND DOUBLE WIDE  
MANUFACTURED HOME EXPERIENCED SOME STRUCTURAL AND/OR ROOF DAMAGE.  
FURTHER NORTHEAST ALONG W CR 1450 N NEAR THE END OF THE DAMAGE  
PATH...THERE WERE SNAPPED TREES...WOOD POWER POLES LEANING AND  
DAMAGE TO TWO FARMSTEADS. ON ONE...THE DOORS COLLAPSED IN A POLE  
BARN. IN ANOTHER POLE BARN...THE WALLS COLLAPSED AFTER THE ROOF  
WAS BLOWN OFF. THE DAMAGE IN THIS TORNADO PATH WAS CONSISTENT WITH  
MAXIMUM SPEEDS OF 100-105 MPH.  
  
IT CANNOT BE CONCLUSIVELY RULED OUT THAT MORE THAN ONE TORNADO  
TOUCHED DOWN ALONG THE 8 MILE LONG DAMAGE PATH.  

Additional Tornadoes Confirmed From June 24

Two additional tornadoes have been confirmed from the storms on June 24, an EF0 in Owen county and an EF1 in Morgan county.  Also, the path length of the Plainfield-Indianapolis tornado was extended by about 1/2 mile. 

More info on Owen and Morgan counties courtesy of NWS Indianapolis:

The first tornado from this thunderstorm touched down at approximately 1:30 PM EDT, 5.4 miles northwest of the town of Gosport along Truesdel Road, just east of McFarren Road, in Owen County. This tornado was rated EF0 with winds estimated at 85 mph uprooting trees and causing minor damage to several buildings. This tornado lifted at 1:31 PM EDT after traveling one half mile.

The second tornado touched down at approximately 1:50 PM EDT, 1.5 miles southeast of the town of Eminence along County Road 500N, just east of the Craver Road / SR42 bend in Morgan County.   This tornado was rated EF1 with peak winds estimated at 94 mph that uprooted numerous trees and destroyed one barn.  This second tornado lifted at 1:51 PM EDT after traveling approximately one quarter mile.

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 Tornado In Greene County

An EF0 tornado has been confirmed in Greene County on June 10.  There hasn't been a Public Information Statement (PNS) released from NWS Indianapolis but the brief touchdown occurred along Baseline Road south of Bloomfield.

2013 Year In Review

With 2013 now complete, here is a recap of this year's tornadoes.


January:

2 tornadoes occurred in southern Indiana during the early morning hours of January 30.  A brief EF1 occurred in Orange county and an EF0 occurred in Harrison county.


May:

After no tornadoes in February, March and April, several tornadoes occurred in the month of May.  Two EF0 tornadoes occurred in Vigo county on May 9.  Two more EF0 tornadoes occurred in Hendricks and Putnam counties during the early morning hours of May 21.  Finally, an EF0 struck Benton county on May 31.  


June:

Much of June was quiet in terms of tornadoes until June 26.  On that day, two EF1 tornadoes occurred in Pike and Perry counties.  The Perry county tornado was on the ground for over 5 miles and caused damage in and around Tell City.


July:

One tornado occurred in July.  An EF1 struck Miami county on July 10, resulting in 2 injuries.  This tornado was on the ground for about 3.5 miles. 


November:

This month will be remembered for the massive tornado outbreak that occurred on the 17th.  This outbreak is the biggest fall tornado outbreak on record in Indiana and is one of the more impressive fall outbreaks to ever occur in the United States.  28 tornadoes struck the state with major damage occurring in numerous locations.  Some of the hardest hit areas were Kokomo, Lebanon and Lafayette.  For more on this outbreak, see this post.

NWS Confirms Tornado In Perry County

The NWS in Louisville has confirmed an EF1 tornado struck the Tell City area on June 26.  Here are the survey details:


PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...CORRECTED PATH WIDTH
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
0512 PM EDT THU JUN 27 2013   
..DAMAGE REPORT

DAMAGE TYPE: TORNADO

DATE: JUN 26 2013
BEGIN TIME: 8:29 PM CDT
END TIME: 8:38 PM CDT

EF SCALE: 1 
WIND SPEED: 60-95 MPH

PATH LENGTH: 5.15 MILES
PATH WIDTH: 100 YARDS 


NARRATIVE: THE TORNADO INITIALLY TOUCHED DOWN SOUTHWEST OF TROY AND 
PROCEEDED SOUTHEAST THROUGH TELL CITY, FINALLY LIFTING JUST NORTH OF
CANNELTON. SEVERAL LARGE TREES WERE FELLED ALONG THE PATH WITH MINOR 
ROOF DAMAGE AND SMALL OUTBUILDINGS DAMAGED. DAMAGE ALSO INCLUDED A 
CARNIVAL SITE AT 10TH AND WATT STREET WHERE A LARGE SEMI TRAILER WAS 
OVERTURNED AND A FEW RIDES WERE BLOWN SIDEWAYS. TREE BRANCHES 
WERE SNAPPED ALONG THE ENTIRE PATH.  

June 11, 1998 Tornado Outbreak

On this date in 1998, ten tornadoes struck northern and central parts of the state.  The strongest tornado touched down in far eastern Marion county in the early evening and quickly intensified to F4 as it passed into Hancock county.  Fortunately, this tornado resulted in no fatalities and only 4 injuries.  Another strong tornado touched down in Howard county, doing significant damage in Greentown.  In all, 17 people were injured in this outbreak.

2011 Year In Review

As we move toward the end of 2011, I thought it would be prudent to post a summary of this year's tornadoes.  Here it is month by month.


February:

6 tornadoes occurred, all of them on the last day of the month.  An EF2 tornado cut a 14 mile swath in Dubois county, injuring 1 person.  A separate EF2 struck portions of Gibson and Pike counties.


April:

This was a quiet month for tornadoes until the 19th.  29 tornadoes struck the state on the 19th and into the 20th, the second most in a single outbreak.  This event was followed up on the 23rd by an EF0 tornado in Jackson county.  Three additional tornadoes struck the state on the 26th and 27th, one of them an EF2 which had a 5 mile path through Warrick county.  There were 33 tornadoes in total during April, making it our second most active month on record.


May:

May followed a similar trend as April with a quiet early and middle part of the month.  Then an EF1 tornado in Jasper county kicked things off on May 22.  EF0 tornadoes struck Huntington and Ripley and Dearborn counties on the 23rd.  After a 1 day break, another significant outbreak happened on May 25.  This outbreak produced 22 tornadoes, including several EF2's and an EF3 in Lawrence county.  The Lawrence county tornado began east of Bedford and moved northeast for about 7 miles before lifting.  In all, there were 25 tornadoes in May.


June:

Like the preceding months, much of June was quiet.  The first tornado was a brief EF0 in Perry county on the 19th.  Another tornado struck Harrison county on the 22nd.  Two more tornadoes occurred during the early morning hours of the 26th, bringing the monthly total to 4. 


July:

Only 1 tornado happened in July, a brief EF0 in Newton county on the 23rd.


September:

After nearly 2 months without a tornado, an EF1 hit Jennings county early on the 26th.  An EF0 struck Elkhart county the following day. 


November:

An EF1 tornado touched down in Orange county on the 14th, the only tornado during November.  This was the last tornado of the year, bringing the 2011 total to 72.

June 4, 1814 - First Documented Tornado?

Tornadoes have undoubtedly been occurring since long before recordkeeping began.  One of if not perhaps the earliest account in the area is from June 4, 1814 - a time when Indiana wasn't yet a state and was known as the Indiana Territory.  Although details are limited, it appears there may have been at least 2 tornadoes that struck the southwestern portion of the Territory, one north of Vincennes and one near Patoka.  Houses were damaged or destroyed and cattle were killed.  The tornadoes were said to have been between a half mile and a mile wide.


Source:

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

NWS Confirms Tornado In Spencer/Perry Counties

We continue to add to our record setting tornado season as the NWS in Louisville has confirmed that an EF1 tornado touched down in Spencer and Perry counties on June 26.  Here are the details:


PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
620 PM EDT MON JUN 27 2011  


...EF-1 TORNADO IN SPENCER AND PERRY COUNTIES IN INDIANA SUNDAY JUNE 
26 2011...


DAMAGE TYPE: TORNADO
BEGIN TIME:  2:12 AM CDT
END TIME:    2:17 AM CDT
BEGIN POINT: 0.7 MILE SOUTH OF ST. MEINRAD
END POINT:   2.3 MILES EAST OF ST. MEINRAD
EF SCALE:    EF-1
WIND SPEED:  95-100 MPH  
PATH LENGTH: 2.3 MILES
PATH WIDTH:  200 YARDS (MAXIMUM)
INJURIES:    0
FATALITIES:  0


NARRATIVE: THE TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN ON THE SOUTHERN END OF THE ST. 
MEINRAD SEMINARY GROUNDS...DESTROYING A CINDER BLOCK OUTBUILDING AND 
TAKING 100 FEET OF ROOFING OFF A LARGE METAL OUTBUILDING. THE 
TORNADO ALSO UPROOTED NUMEROUS TREES AND RIPPED SECTIONS OF ROOFING 
OFF SEVERAL OTHER BUILDINGS BEFORE MOVING OFF TO THE EAST-NORTHEAST. 
IT WEAKENED AS IT MOVED INTO FORESTED HILLS WHERE IT SNAPPED AND 
UPROOTED TREES ON A NARROWING PATH BEFORE LIFTING OFF CATNIP ROAD. 
  

NWS Confirms Tornado In Dubois County

The NWS in Louisville has confirmed that an EF1 tornado touched down in Dubois county in the early morning hours of June 26.  Here are the details:


PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
221 PM EDT SUN JUN 26 2011     

..EF-1 TORNADO IN DUBOIS COUNTY EARLY ON JUNE 26 2011...UPDATED


DAMAGE TYPE: TORNADO
BEGIN TIME:  2:54 AM EDT
END TIME:    2:57 AM EDT
BEGIN POINT: 0.4 MILE NORTH OF DUFF
END POINT:   1.9 MILES SOUTHEAST OF DUFF
EF SCALE:    EF-1
WIND SPEED:  95 MPH  
PATH LENGTH: 2.2 MILES
PATH WIDTH:  130 YARDS
INJURIES:    0
FATALITIES:  0


NARRATIVE: IN AND AROUND DUFF SEVERAL HOMES HAD MINOR DAMAGE AND 
NUMEROUS SOFTWOOD AND HARDWOOD TREES WERE SNAPPED OR UPROOTED.
   

Most Frequent Tornado Days Since 1950

I have put together a list of the most frequent tornado days since 1950.  In other words, those calendar days which have produced at least one tornado most often.  Here are all of the days which have produced at least 5 times and I have also included the total number of tornadoes for each day.  Bold represents days which have had tornadoes in every decade with the exception of the current young decade.


April 20...5 days...22 tornadoes
April 28...5 days...5 tornadoes
May 14...5 days...10 tornadoes
May 18...5 days...9 tornadoes
May 25...5 days...10 tornadoes
May 26...7 days...13 tornadoes
May 27...7 days...10 tornadoes
May 28...6 days...11 tornadoes
May 30...7 days...35 tornadoes
May 31...6 days...10 tornadoes
June 4.....5 days...9 tornadoes
June 7.....5 days...13 tornadoes
June 8.....5 days...13 tornadoes
June 11...7 days...17 tornadoes
June 12...8 days...13 tornadoes
June 13...7 days...13 tornadoes
June 14...5 days...11 tornadoes
June 15...5 days...6 tornadoes
June 17...6 days...9 tornadoes
June 21...6 days...6 tornadoes
June 23...5 days...13 tornadoes
June 24...7 days...9 tornadoes
June 28...5 days...8 tornadoes
July 1......7 days...7 tornadoes
July 4......5 days...7 tornadoes
July 9......6 days...9 tornadoes


Interestingly, the day with the greatest number of tornadoes - June 2 - isn't on the list.  While only 3 June 2nds have produced tornadoes, a total of 46 tornadoes have occurred.

NWS Confirms Tornado In Harrison County

The NWS in Louisville has confirmed that an EF0 tornado touched down in Harrison county on June 22.  Here are the details:


PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT...CORRECTED WIND SPEED AND NARRATIVE
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
445 PM EDT THU JUN 23 2011
 
 
...BRIEF TORNADO CONFIRMED IN HARRISON COUNTY INDIANA ON THE EVENING 
OF JUNE 22 2011... 

 
DAMAGE TYPE: TORNADO
BEGIN TIME:  7:27 PM EDT
END TIME:    7:28 PM EDT 
BEGIN POINT: 1.5 MILES SOUTHEAST OF NEW MIDDLETOWN
END POINT:   1.5 MILES SOUTHEAST OF NEW MIDDLETOWN
EF SCALE:    EF-0
WIND SPEED:  70-75 MPH  
PATH LENGTH: ABOUT 600 YARDS
PATH WIDTH:  ABOUT 75 YARDS
INJURIES:    0
FATALITIES:  0 
  

NARRATIVE:   A SMALL AND BRIEF TORNADO TOUCHED DOWN ABOUT 1.5 MILES 
SOUTH TO SOUTHEAST OF NEW MIDDLETOWN IN HARRISON COUNTY INDIANA 
AROUND 7:27 PM EDT. THE INITIAL TOUCHDOWN POINT WAS IN THE 3900 
BLOCK OF ELIZABETH-NEW MIDDLETOWN ROAD. THE TORNADO DAMAGED A ROW OF 
TREES BEHIND A HOME AND REMOVED SOME FLASHING ON THE HOME. THE 
TORNADO APPARENTLY LIFTED AND CROSSED ELIZABETH-NEW MIDDLETOWN ROAD 
AND HEADED EAST INTO A WOODED AREA. THE TORNADO SNAPPED LARGE LIMBS 
FROM THE TREE CANOPY IN THIS AREA AND LIKELY WAS NOT IN TOTAL 
CONTACT WITH THE GROUND. THE TORNADO LASTED FOR A MINUTE OR LESS. 
THE TREE DAMAGE IS CONSISTENT WITH EF-0 DAMAGE WITH ESTIMATED WINDS 
OF 70-75 MPH.  

NWS Confirms Tornado In Perry County

Well, after going nearly 4 weeks since the last tornado in the state, the NWS in Louisville has confirmed a weak tornado touched down in Perry county on the morning of June 19.  Here are the details:


PUBLIC INFORMATION STATEMENT
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE LOUISVILLE KY
500 PM EDT MON JUN 20 2011

ONE WEAK SHORT-LIVED TORNADO CONFIRMED IN EXTREME NORTHEAST PERRY 
COUNTY INDIANA DURING THE MORNING OF SUNDAY JUNE 19 2011 BY A 
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE STORM SURVEY TEAM. 


DAMAGE TYPE: TORNADO
BEGIN TIME:  7:31 AM EDT
END TIME:    7:32 AM EDT 
BEGIN POINT: 1.3 MILES NORTH OF ORIOLE...OR 2.3 MILES SOUTH OF
             SULPHUR SPRINGS ALONG ROUTE 66 IN EXTREME NORTHEAST
             PERRY COUNTY
END POINT:   APPROXIMATELY SAME AS BEGIN POINT
EF SCALE:    EF-0 
WIND SPEED:  75-80 MPH 
PATH LENGTH: APPROXIMATELY 0.2 MILE 
PATH WIDTH:  60-70 YARDS 
INJURIES:    0 
FATALITIES:  0 
  

NARRATIVE: THE EF-0 TORNADO TOUCHED JUST WEST OF ROUTE 66...WHERE 
THE ROAD IS ORIENTED SOUTHWEST TO NORTHEAST IN EXTREME NORTHEAST 
PERRY COUNTY. OBSERVABLE DAMAGE WAS ALL TO TREES ON BOTH SIDES OF 
THE ROAD (MOSTLY SOFTWOOD) WITH 8 TO 10 TREES EITHER UPROOTED... 
BENT OVER...OR SNAPPED OFF. OTHER TREES CLUSTERED IN THE SAME 
LOCATION SHOWED NO VISIBLE DAMAGE. THE DAMAGE LENGTH WAS ESTIMATED
AT 0.2 MILE ALTHOUGH IF THERE WAS ANY TREE DAMAGE FARTHER EAST OF 
ROUTE 66...IT WAS INACCESSIBLE. THE WIDTH OF TREE DAMAGE WAS NARROW
BUT DEFINITIVE WITH NO DAMAGE NORTH OR SOUTH OF THIS AXIS ALONG 
ROUTE 66. NO STRUCTURAL DAMAGE WAS OBSERVED. 
  

June 20, 1942 Kokomo Tornado

I haven't done many posts about pre-1950 tornadoes so I will take a couple minutes to discuss the Kokomo area tornado of June 20, 1942.  This violent F4 tornado touched down in the early evening hours south of the tiny Clinton county community of Moran.  It moved east-northeast across northern Clinton county before entering Howard county and taking aim on Kokomo.  The tornado apparently reached maximum intensity in Kokomo where it killed 2 people and heavily damaged the south side of the city before dissipating shortly thereafter.  A total of 4 people lost their lives.  Interestingly, the track was very similar to the April 11, 1965 Palm Sunday tornado.

Here is a map of the approximate path of the tornado:

The meteorological setup was characterized by an upper level trough in the Lakes and a seasonably strong surface low which tracked across the southern Lakes.  Here are the 500 millibar and surface maps from 18z:



Source:

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

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.

June 5-6, 2010 Tornado Outbreak

Today marks the 1 year anniversary of the June 5-6 tornado outbreak.  Three tornadoes struck parts of White, Carroll, Cass and Miami counties, including an EF3 near Grissom Air Force Base.  We are fortunate that nobody was killed since these tornadoes occurred at night.

I traveled to all 3 damage paths and took some pictures.  Here are some of them.

June 2, 1990 Tornado Outbreak - Biggest On Record

Today marks the anniversary of our biggest tornado outbreak on record.  Although it wasn't as devastating as the Palm Sunday Outbreak or the Super Outbreak, this event is notable for a few reasons.  First, 37 tornadoes set a new record for most tornadoes in a single outbreak.  Second, 20 of the 37 tornadoes were rated F2 or greater.  To put that in some perspective, it "normally" takes 3 or 4 years to accumulate that many strong tornadoes.  Third, this event produced multiple violent F4's, joining 4/11/1965 and 4/3/1974 as the only days with multiple violent tornadoes in the state (since 1950).  Unfortunately, 8 people were killed.

Here is a map of the approximate tornado tracks:

Here are some images courtesy of Nick Smith:




June 2, 1990 Convective Outlook

   



Early Evening Radar Depicting Scattered Supercells



June Tornadoes Per County Since 1950