Indiana, 2002Tornado and Damaging Winds in Indiana, September 20, 2002
September 20, 2002 · NWS IWX · 5 events in 4 counties and zones
4 thunderstorm wind, 1 tornado, as filed by the National Weather Service.
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
Open the live radar over this ground
- Deaths
- 0
- Injuries
- 0
- Property damage
- None recorded
- Crop damage
- None recorded
- Events
- 5
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.
What forecasters said that day
The local office's own words before the first event, as it sent them, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service text.
NWS Northern Indiana wrote its last area forecast discussion before the first event at Sep 20, 2:20 PM EST, 50 minutes earlier.
Area forecast discussion, Sep 20, 2:20 PM EST, 50 minutes before
AREA FORECAST DISCUSSION
NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE NORTHERN INDIANA
220 PM EST FRI SEP 20 2002
UPPER TROF WILL LIFT TO NORTHEAST EARLY TNGT AS SFC LOW AND FRONT
SHIFT EAST. SEVERE THREAT TO CONTINUE INTO EARLY EVENING FOR SE
CWA. DEEP MOISTURE AND LLVL CONVERGENCE WILL BE EAST OF CWA BY
SAT MORNING AS FRONT SLIDES THROUGH. COMPROMISE ON TMPS BETWEEN
MET/MAV AS MET LOOKS TOO WARM AND MAV TOO COLD. DRY SATURDAY
UNDER HIGH THEN CHGS MADE FOR SAT NITE AND SUNDAY AS SIGNIFICANT
SHRTWV PUSHES STRONGER FRONT TOWARD CWA LATE SAT NITE INTO SUNDAY.
ETA SEEMS TO BE LACKING QPF BASED ON PROGGED LIFT AND SOME AVAILABLE
MOISTURE SO WILL GO LOW CHC POPS SAT NITE WEST AND CHC ENTIRE CWA
SUNDAY. THEN DRY AND COOL UNDER HIGH PRESSURE UNTIL THURSDAY WHEN
NEXT STRONG SYSTEM BRINGS ANOTHER FRONT. WILL KEEP FRIDAY DRY
ALTHOUGH COULD BE A FEW SHOWERS WITH DEEP TROF COMING ACROSS LAKES.
.IWX...NONE.
RES
Tornado, Blackford
- When
- September 20, 3:10 PM EST to 3:20 PM EST
- Where
- Blackford County, 5 mi SW of Hartford City
- Rating
- F1
- Path length
- 10 mi
- Path width
- 75 yd
- Reported by
- NWS STORM SURVEY
- Coordinates
- 40.400, -85.433
NWS officials reported the tornado touched down and lifted numerous times along the path. This tornado was produced by the same parent supercell that produced several tornadoes in the Indianapolis WFO CWA. Most of the damage occurred as it passed through Hartford City. A building at Ag Best, a fertilizer plant, was torn apart. Vehicles were also damaged at this business. The 4-H building suffered damage to its south and east sides. Numerous reports of trees and power lines were noted along the track, with trees falling down across from Southside school in Hartford City.
Thunderstorm Wind, Blackford
- When
- September 20, 3:35 PM EST
- Where
- Blackford County, Montpelier
- Reported by
- NEWSPAPER
- Coordinates
- 40.550, -85.283
Newspaper reported a large tree was uprooted.
Thunderstorm Wind, Jay
- When
- September 20, 3:40 PM EST to 4:00 PM EST
- Where
- Jay County, 1 mi E of Dunkirk
- Reported by
- LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Coordinates
- 40.383, -85.200
Law enforcement reported trees were uprooted just east of Dunkirk. The storm then caused damage 7 miles northwest of Portland. A barn was leveled as well as tree and chimney damage at one residence. Another barn was leveled and a garage damaged about a mile north of the other destroyed barn. Trees were reported down in Bryant as well.
Thunderstorm Wind, Adams
- When
- September 20, 3:45 PM EST to 4:00 PM EST
- Where
- Adams County, 4 mi W of Monroe
- Reported by
- EMERGENCY MANAGER
- Coordinates
- 40.750, -85.017
Emergency management reported several trees were blown down west of Monroe. A few hundred feet from the damage, a trampoline was wrapped around the top of a large tree. A barn was also destroyed 6 miles northeast of Decatur.
Thunderstorm Wind, Grant
- When
- September 20, 4:06 PM EST
- Where
- Grant County, 4 mi E of Marion
- Reported by
- AMATEUR RADIO
- Coordinates
- 40.550, -85.500
Ham radio operators reported trees down.
- 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.
- 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.
- Tornadoes in Indiana, September 20, 2002127 injured · $103 million · F3 · 8 events
- Tornadoes in Indiana, September 20, 20022 injured · $1.1 million · F2 · 2 events
- Tornado in Indiana, September 20, 2002$2.0 million · F2 · 1 event
- Tornado in Indiana, September 20, 20021 injured · $500,000 · F2 · 1 event
- Damaging Winds in Ohio, September 20, 20022 injured · $264,000 · 52 kt wind · 8 events
- Tornado in Indiana, September 20, 2002$505,000 · F0 · 1 event
- Tornadoes and Damaging Winds in Ohio, September 20, 2002$50,000 · F1 · 4 events
- Flash Flood and High Wind in Tennessee, September 20, 2002$101,000 · 2 events
- Damaging Winds in Ohio, September 20, 2002$58,000 · 60 kt wind · 9 events
- Damaging Winds in Indiana, September 20, 2002$39,000 · 50 kt wind · 4 events
- Flood in Guam, September 20, 2002$40,000 · 1 event
- Lightning Strike in Alabama, September 20, 2002$15,000 · 1 event
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: 5315671, 5315672, 5315673, 5315674, 5315670.