As part of a large tornado outbreak sequence across the U.S., three significant tornadoes struck portions of central Indiana on May 21, 1949. A short summary of each tornado is provided below.
Tornado #1 initially touched down southwest of Palestine, Illinois, and moved northeast through that town. All four deaths and most of the damage (peaking at F4 intensity) occurred in Illinois before the tornado moved into Sullivan county.
Tornado #2 touched down south of Cox Field on the east side of Terre Haute. The tornado damaged several houses on a NNE trek from Terre Haute to southwest of Burnett. Three deaths occurred and about ten people were injured.
Tornado #3 proved to be the worst tornado of the group. This tornado touched down near Graysville and moved through Shelburn, devastating part of that town. The tornado continued northeast, passing south of Bowling Green and ending north of Jordan in Owen county. Farms were destroyed at several points along the path. The worst damage occurred in the northwest part of Shelburn, where many homes were damaged/destroyed and thirteen people died. In all, this F4 tornado killed fourteen people on a path that may have exceeded 40 miles. Hundreds of animals were also killed.
Source:
Thomas P. Grazulis, Significant Tornadoes 1680-1991 (Environmental Films, 1993).
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