EF1 tornado, Lookout to Milan, Indiana, June 18, 2021

1. EF065 to 85 mph

   Light damage. Surface peeled off some roofs, gutters and siding damaged, branches broken, shallow-rooted trees pushed over.

2. EF186 to 110 mphthis tornado

   Moderate damage. Roofs badly stripped, mobile homes overturned or badly damaged, exterior doors lost, windows broken.

3. EF2111 to 135 mph

   Considerable damage. Roofs torn off well-built houses, frame homes shifted on their foundations, mobile homes destroyed, large trees snapped or uprooted, cars lifted off the ground.

4. EF3136 to 165 mph

   Severe damage. Whole stories of well-built houses destroyed, large buildings badly damaged, trains overturned, trees debarked, heavy cars lifted and thrown.

5. EF4166 to 200 mph

   Devastating damage. Well-built houses leveled, structures with weak foundations moved some distance, cars thrown and large missiles generated.

6. EF5over 200 mph

   Incredible damage. Strong frame houses swept off their foundations, car-sized missiles thrown more than 100 meters, steel-reinforced concrete badly damaged, high-rise buildings deformed.

7. Unrated

   The survey recorded a tornado but could not put a number on it, most often because it crossed open country and damaged nothing a rating can be read from.

Rating

EF1

Date

June 18, 2021

Touchdown

8:51 PM EDT (00:51 UTC)

Lifted

8:57 PM EDT (00:57 UTC)

On the ground

6 minutes

Path length

6.2 miles (10.0 km)

Path width

150 yards (137 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

0

Property damage

$100,000

County

Ripley County

Touchdown point

39.166, -85.196

Lift-off point

39.105, -85.112

Record number

2106181851-01

Thunderstorms developed during the afternoon and evening hours as a low pressure system moved through a warm and humid airmass that was in place across the Ohio Valley.

The first evidence of tornadic damage was observed along East Prattsburg Road, just east of State Route 129, where several trees were knocked down. Additional damage was noted further southeast along East Prattsburg Road, where several additional trees were downed and a carport was destroyed. Tree damage continued along East Prattsburg Road to where it intersected with Old Mill Road and E County Road 475 N. One residence on East Prattsburg Road also experienced minor damage to the home, with some gutters and shingles removed. In a wooded area to the south of East County Road 475 N, the tree damage was more extensive, with numerous hardwood trees snapped.||The tornado moved into the town of Milan and produced sporadic damage, mainly along Josephine Street, Ellsworth Street, and West Ellis Street, where a few large tree limbs were knocked down and siding was also removed from a one story home. Winds in the town of Milan were estimated to be 80 mph, or EF0 in nature.||The tornado then strengthened as it moved just southeast of downtown Milan. Along Woolery Street and Rose Street, the most significant damage from this tornado was observed. The tree damage was much more extensive, with numerous hardwood trees snapped or completely knocked down. Significant tree damage continued southeast onto a residence on North County Road 750 E, where a garage was also destroyed. Damage in this area was consistent with winds of up to 110 mph, or reaching EF1 intensity.||The tornado then weakened and dissipated, with the only remaining damage to the southeast of this area on East 200 N, where one tree was blown down onto a house.

From NOAA NCEI's Storm Events Database, the narrative the local forecast office wrote for Storm Data.

No tornado warning for this county appears in the archive as in force at the moment the tornado touched down. One was issued for the county at another hour that day.

The county was under a tornado watch, issued at 00:09 UTC and running to 02:48 UTC.

Every warning and watch covering the touchdown point that day, from the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service products. Lead time is measured from the issue of the warning in force to the touchdown time in the database, both of which were recorded to the minute by different people.

The Storm Prediction Center had this point in a Enhanced Risk, with a 0.02 chance of a tornado within 25 miles. The outlook in force was issued at 20:02 UTC.

SPC's Day 1 convective outlook as it stood when the tornado began, read at the touchdown point. The same archive is on the radar archive.

The radiosonde launches on either side of the tornado, from the nearest station that was launching then, drawn and analyzed the way Storm Lab does: the same diagram, the same parcel and shear definitions SPC's mesoanalysis uses.

The Indianapolis radar (KIND), 116 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 00:51 UTC.

Open the radar archive at this moment, over the track

Reflectivity and velocity, decoded from the Level II archive in the browser. Volumes take a few seconds to open the first time.

Local storm reports within 60 km of the path, in the three hours either side.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of National Weather Service local storm reports.

The live radar over the trackEvery 2021 tornado in IndianaEvery tornado in Indiana since 1950Warnings in force in Indiana nowThe forecast where you are

7 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

Ratings are the survey's, read off the damage rather than measured; the rating scale is above. Tornado counts rise through the record as reporting improved, so a year in the 1950s is not comparable with one today except for the strongest tornadoes, which were always noticed.

NOAA Storm Prediction Center tornado database, 1950-2025, the official record kept by NOAA's Storm Prediction Center.