EF2 tornado, Watson to Bonham, Indiana, April 2, 2024

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 mph

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

3. EF2111 to 135 mphthis tornado

   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

EF2

Date

April 2, 2024

Touchdown

4:31 PM CDT (21:31 UTC)

Lifted

4:45 PM CDT (21:45 UTC)

On the ground

14 minutes

Path length

11.2 miles (17.9 km)

Path width

450 yards (411 m)

Deaths

0

Injuries

32

Counties

Clark, Jefferson and Oldham counties

Touchdown point

38.349, -85.721

Lift-off point

38.366, -85.518

Record number

2404021531-01

177 damage points were recorded along this path by NWS LMK, in the Damage Assessment Toolkit the survey teams carry. The strongest indicator was rated EF2. The highest wind the damage implies is 120 mph.

• Fresh tree damage in area.

Survey points are preliminary and are the raw material the published rating was built from. Source: NWS Damage Assessment Toolkit.

As a surface low cut across Missouri and Illinois, its eastward stretching warm front moved north across central Indiana while its cold front moved east towards the Lower Ohio Valley. This placed southern Indiana in the warm sector, where 3 separate lines of convection moved through during the day. The first line of storms generating from an early morning outflow boundary dropped southeast through the area. This produced some isolated wind damage which caused one person to get injured in Dubois County. The second line, moving west to east, ripped the roof off a fire house in Crawford County before producing a tornado near Georgetown. The third line, just ahead of the cold front, moved through during the evening hours. This line knocked trees down in Crawford County before producing a tornado along Interstate 265 in Clark County that crossed the Ohio River into Kentucky. A total of ten injuries were reported from the Indiana Department of Homeland Security.

As a surface low cut across Missouri and Illinois, its eastward stretching warm front moved north across central Indiana while its cold front moved east towards the Lower Ohio Valley. This placed central Kentucky in the warm sector, where 3 separate lines of convection moved through during the day. The first line of storms generating from an early morning outflow boundary dropped southeast through the area. This produced six tornadoes, mainly through the Bluegrass region. The second line, moving west to east, just produced some passing showers and thunderstorms. The third line, just ahead of the cold front, moved through during the evening hours. This produced three more tornadoes along the Interstate 71 corridor. One of these tornadoes began in Clark County, Indiana before crossing the Ohio River into Kentucky.

The National Weather Service in Louisville surveyed storm damage in southeast Clark County IN, through far northeast Jefferson KY, and into western Oldham County. Specifically the tornado traveled just southeast of the Clark County Indiana Airport, east through Utica, crossing the Ohio River into Prospect, and lifting just east of the Sleepy Hollow Golf Course in Oldham County. The tornado was its strongest in Jefferson County, KY where it was an EF2 with 120 mph winds and 450 yards wide. ||Clark County IN... A strong line of severe thunderstorms moved through Clark County Indiana developing a tornado near Interstate 265 and East State Road 62. This tornado led to healthy trees being uprooted near Charlestown Pike. Here, the tornado was an EF0 with 80 to 85 mph winds, and a width of 150 yards. ||The tornado knocked over 3 full tractor trailers as well. The tornado quickly strengthened moving east through the Brookhollow neighborhood. Many garage doors were blown out, windows broken, and large sections of roof structure compromised, brick facade crumbling, and trees uprooted. The tornado was rated EF1 at 100 |mph in this neighborhood with a width of 200 yards. Many wooden boards were impaled and driven more than a foot into the ground and some were impaled into homes. ||An industrial business, with metal roofing near Interstate 265 and Old Salem Road had roof section pulled and twisted and had a 5000 pound salt pod lifted up over 4 foot concrete barrier, and thrown down a hill some 40 yards. The tornado was 100 mph, EF1, with a width of 225 yards. ||The tornado continued east over the Ohio River in Northern Utica. Homes along the bank of the Ohio River had broken windows and peeled metal roofing, which occurred from an EF1 tornado with 97 mph winds and width of 250 yards.

The National Weather Service in Louisville surveyed storm damage in southeast Clark County IN, through far northeast Jefferson KY, and into western Oldham County. Specifically the tornado traveled just southeast of the Clark County Indiana Airport, east through Utica, crossing the Ohio River into Prospect, and lifting just east of the Sleepy Hollow Golf Course in Oldham County. The tornado was its strongest in Jefferson County, KY where it was an EF2 with 120 mph winds and 450 yards wide.||Jefferson County KY... As the tornado crossed the Ohio River, it strengthened and widened in Prospect KY. The Beechland Beach neighborhood had multiple homes with extensive damage. Three 2 stories well built homes had significant roof sections pulled|away, along with broken windows, air conditions twisted and torn off from side of homes. Three large pin oak trees were snapped and uprooted. One home had a collapsed back wall that faces against the path of the tornado. Damage in this neighborhood indicated that the tornado was an EF2 with 120 mph winds, and a|width of 400 yards. All homeowners heeded the tornado warning and sought shelter in a safe place.||From here, the tornado crossed through Hays Kennedy Park and into the northwest Prospect community and The Sutherlands neighborhood. Many homes incurred an array of roof damage, downed power lines, snapped power poles, uprooted trees, and trees |falling on homes. The tornado in this area was 110 mph, EF1, with maximum width of 450 yards. One homeowner on Shirley Avenue was trapped in his basement after a tree fell on his home. Surrounding neighbors worked to free the homeowner. Nearby a 7 foot large section of a locust tree was pulled away and thrown 20 yards and impaled in the ground some 4 feet. ||As the tornado cut through the Hunting Creek neighborhood, it strengthened to an EF2 with a maximum of 115 mph winds, with a width of 250 yards. Many trees had been uprooted or snapped, few homes had roof structures peeled back and two homes lost there entire roof. There was also mostly broken windows, inverted garage doors, blown mud and insulation around all 4 sides of the homes, and extensive shingle, gutter, and soffit damage. After passing through the neighborhood, the tornado exited Jefferson County into Oldham County.

The National Weather Service in Louisville surveyed storm damage in southeast Clark County IN, through far northeast Jefferson KY, and into western Oldham County. Specifically the tornado traveled just southeast of the Clark County Indiana Airport, east through Utica, crossing the Ohio River into Prospect, and lifting just east of the Sleepy Hollow Golf Course in Oldham County. The tornado was its strongest in Jefferson County, KY where it was an EF2 with 120 mph winds and 450 yards wide.||Oldham County... The tornado exited Jefferson County and continued east over the Harrods Creek Dam and into the Hidden Creek neighborhood. Many trees were uprooted, barns took damage to the overhead doors and sheet metal, and homes incurred some roof damage. The damage indicated that the tornado weakened to a lower end EF1, with a maximum wind of 90 mph, and a width of 200 yards. ||The tornado continued to weaken as it moved parallel to Sleepy Hollow Road. Trees along this road and over the Sleepy Hollow Golf Course were uprooted or topped and barns incurred various structural damage. The damage indicated that the tornado was an EF0, with maximum winds of 80 mph and width of 125 yards. ||The tornado lifted along Highway 329 as the parent storm occluded and formed a new tornado to the north.

The National Weather Service in Louisville surveyed storm damage north of Buckner, Kentucky near New Cut Road. The team followed the concentrated storm damage into the Heather Ridge and Grand Villa neighborhoods, and east of Oldham County High School.||The tornado touched down on Halls Hill Road north of New Cut Road, where a few trees were leaning on power lines. This damage was a result of an EF0 tornado with a wind speed of 70 mph.||From Halls Hill Road, the tornado moved east into the Heather Ridge neighborhood. The west half of the neighborhood incurred EF1 95 mph winds, which led to many uprooted or topped trees and minor roof damage. At this point, the tornado strengthened to an EF2 with 115 mph winds while moving into the eastern half of the |neighborhood. Garage doors were inverted or blown off their track, windows were blown out, large portions of roof structures were compromised, mud and insulation were spread all over cars and homes, wood from roof structures was impaled into the ground several feet, and trees were uprooted or snapped. One homeowner was able to catch the tornado with his home security system. Another homeowner explained the terrifying sound of the wind as they took shelter in their basement. ||From the Heather Ridge neighborhood, the tornado continued into the Grand Villa neighborhood where it weakened to an EF1 tornado with 100 mph winds. In this neighborhood, numerous trees were uprooted and one home had an inverted garage door. ||The tornado then continued over Oldham County High School where the roof HVAC system was blown to the ground and a street light was bent. Across the street, a metal warehouse took some roof damage and the garage doors were inverted. At this point, the tornado was an EF1 at 90 mph. ||East of the high school, the tornado weakened to an EF0 at 80 mph where a church took damage to the steeple and large limbs were snapped. A large open faced metal RV storage building took damage to the roof and walls. ||The tornado then weakened as it crossed I-71, leading to some topped trees in the interstate median. The tornado lifted on the southeast side of the interstate.

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 19:49 UTC and running to 00:17 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 Moderate Risk, with a 0.15 chance of a tornado within 25 miles, in the hatched area where significant tornadoes were expected. The outlook in force was issued at 20:01 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.

Jefferson (JVY), 10 km from the path, in the two hours either side.

From the Iowa Environmental Mesonet's archive of airport observations.

The Louisville radar (KLVX), 51 km away, was scanning. The volume nearest the touchdown began at 21:34 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 2024 tornado in IndianaEvery tornado in Indiana since 1950Warnings in force in Indiana nowThe forecast where you are

68 more were confirmed in the United States that day.

All 69 of them

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.