Tornadoes and Hail in Indiana, January 7, 1989

Name: Tornadoes and Hail in Indiana, January 7, 1989
Start: 1989-01-07T17:30
End: 1989-01-07T20:25
Location: Indiana

January 7, 1989 · NWS IND · 9 events in 8 counties and zones

3 tornado, 3 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind, as filed by the National Weather Service.

Where it happened

Every event with a place to put it. Tap one for its entry below.

Tornadoes
Tropical storms and surge
Floods
Wind
Hail
Winter weather
Heat and drought
Cold
Fire, smoke and dust
Marine and coastal
Other

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The toll

Deaths: 0
Injuries: 5
Property damage: $278,000
Crop damage: None recorded
Events: 9

Deaths and injuries are direct and indirect together, as the offices filed them. Damage is property and crops in the dollars of the year, not adjusted for inflation, and only where an office estimated it.

Event by event

3 tornado, 3 hail, 3 thunderstorm wind. Local standard time, as filed.

Tornado, Knox

When: January 7, 5:30 PM EST
Where: Knox County
Rating: F4
Path length: 12 mi
Path width: 100 yd
Injuries: 5 direct, 0 indirect
Property damage: $250,000
Coordinates: 38.580, -87.700

Tornado, Knox

When: January 7, 6:00 PM EST
Where: Knox County
Rating: F0
Path length: 0.1 mi
Path width: 30 yd
Property damage: $3,000
Coordinates: 38.530, -87.520

Hail, Miami

When: January 7, 5:15 PM CST
Where: Miami County
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 40.780, -86.020

Hail, Daviess

When: January 7, 6:15 PM CST
Where: Daviess County
Measured: 0.75 in hail
Coordinates: 38.670, -87.170

Hail, Martin

When: January 7, 6:35 PM CST
Where: Martin County
Measured: 1 in hail
Coordinates: 38.670, -86.900

Tornado, Decatur

When: January 7, 8:15 PM EST
Where: Decatur County
Rating: F1
Path length: 4.5 mi
Path width: 50 yd
Property damage: $25,000
Coordinates: 39.230, -85.620

Thunderstorm Wind, White

When: January 7, 7:48 PM CST
Where: White County
Coordinates: 40.770, -87.030

Thunderstorm Wind, Bartholomew

When: January 7, 8:10 PM CST
Where: Bartholomew County
Coordinates: 39.200, -85.880

Thunderstorm Wind, Elkhart

When: January 7, 8:25 PM CST
Where: Elkhart County
Coordinates: 41.680, -85.920

What these are

Tornado: A violently rotating column of air in contact with the ground and extending from a thunderstorm, filed with its path, width and Fujita or Enhanced Fujita rating from the damage survey.
Hail: Hail three-quarters of an inch or larger, or smaller hail that caused damage, filed with the largest stone measured.
Thunderstorm Wind: Winds from a thunderstorm of 50 knots (58 mph) or more, or lower winds that caused damage or casualties. Measured gusts are marked MG, estimated EG.

After NWS Directive 10-1605, the rules offices file Storm Data by.

The same day elsewhere

Every storm in Indiana in 1989 Every state in 1989 This day in weather history The tornado archive for Indiana, 1989 Warnings in Indiana, January 1989

Sources

NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database, compiled from the National Weather Service’s monthly Storm Data. Complete through 2026-06; NCEI adds each month about 75 days after it ends and revises past years a few times a year. Rebuilt 2026-09-24. Each event’s entry at NCEI: 10017809, 10017810, 10017808, 10017811, 10017812, 10017815, 10017813, 10017814, 10017816.