Tornadoes · United States · Indiana

Tornadoes in Cass County, Indiana

32 tornadoes have crossed Cass County since 1950, 4 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 15th of the 92 counties in Indiana with a tornado on record, an average of one every 2.4 years. They have killed 18 people and injured 288. 1 was rated F4 or EF4 and above.

The rating scale

Tracks are drawn in the color of the rating. The United States rated tornadoes on Ted Fujita’s F scale until 31 January 2007 and on the Enhanced Fujita scale after it. Both run from 0 to 5, and both rate the damage rather than measure the wind: the speeds are what that damage is taken to imply.

  1. F0 / EF040 to 72 mph on the F scale, 65 to 85 mph on the EF scale

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

  2. F1 / EF173 to 112 mph on the F scale, 86 to 110 mph on the EF scale

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

  3. F2 / EF2113 to 157 mph on the F scale, 111 to 135 mph on the EF scale

    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. F3 / EF3158 to 206 mph on the F scale, 136 to 165 mph on the EF scale

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

  5. F4 / EF4207 to 260 mph on the F scale, 166 to 200 mph on the EF scale

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

  6. F5 / EF5261 to 318 mph on the F scale, over 200 mph on the EF scale

    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.

Now

Tornadoes
32
Deaths
18
Injuries
288
F4 and above
1
Worst on record
F4, April 3, 1974

The deadliest in Cass County

  1. F4 Monticello tornado, IndianaApril 3, 197418 killed, 285 injured

The strongest

  1. F4 Monticello tornado, IndianaApril 3, 1974F4, 108.7 mi (175 km)
  2. EF3, Tippecanoe, Clinton, Carroll and Cass counties, IndianaNovember 17, 2013EF3, 37.9 mi (61 km)
  3. F3, Carroll, Cass and Miami counties, IndianaApril 29, 1963F3, 23.1 mi (37 km)
  4. EF3, Miami and Cass counties, IndianaJune 5, 2010EF3, 7.5 mi (12 km)
  5. F2, White and Cass counties, IndianaJune 13, 1958F2, 8.4 mi (14 km)
  6. F2, Cass and Miami counties, IndianaJuly 26, 2005F2, 4.0 mi (6 km)
  7. F2, Cass County, IndianaMarch 6, 1956F2, 2.0 mi (3 km)
  8. F2, Cass County, IndianaJune 22, 1961F2, 0.1 mi (0 km)
  9. F2, Cass County, IndianaSeptember 28, 1959F2, 0.1 mi (0 km)
  10. F2, Cass County, IndianaJune 13, 1958F2, 0.1 mi (0 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 24 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Cass County. Each year links to every tornado in Indiana that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20264EF1
20251EF0
20232EF1
20221EF0
20171EF1
20132EF3
201022EF3
20061F0
20051F2
20031F0
19951F1
19911F0
19901F0
19871F0
19841F0
19781F1
1974118285F4
19711F1
19631F3
19611F2
19601F1
19591F2
19582F2
195621F2

Every tornado that crossed Cass County

32 tornadoes, newest first. The 4 at the top are this year's, from the surveying office rather than SPC's published database, and their ratings are marked as preliminary.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 11, 20269:46 PM EDTEF1Cass0.8250
June 11, 20269:58 PM EDTEF1Cass1.5100
June 16, 20265:53 PM EDTUnratedCass0.350
June 16, 20265:58 PM EDTUnratedCass0.125
March 19, 20257:54 PM EDTEF0Cass0.950$11,000
July 29, 20232:19 AM EDTEF0Cass2.150
March 31, 202310:13 PM EDTEF1Cass1.7300
March 6, 20222:05 AM ESTEF0Cass0.425$15,000
July 10, 20177:53 PM EDTEF1Cass3.8200
November 17, 20133:20 PM ESTEF0Cass1.1150
November 17, 20132:54 PM ESTEF3Tippecanoe37.9100$785,000
June 5, 20101:41 AM EDTEF3Miami7.52501$875,000
June 5, 20101:25 AM EDTEF1Carroll6.31501$185,000
May 31, 20063:15 PM EDTF0White7.150
July 26, 20058:25 PM ESTF2Cass4.0100$450,000
July 21, 20033:15 AM ESTF0Cass2.0100
May 13, 199510:13 PM ESTF1Cass2.840$50,000 to $500,000
March 27, 19916:25 PM ESTF0Cass0.210
June 2, 19906:10 PM ESTF0Cass0.120
July 15, 19875:26 PM ESTF0Cass0.210
June 12, 19843:05 PM ESTF0Cass0.110
November 17, 197810:50 AM ESTF1Cass0.540$5,000 to $50,000
April 3, 19744:45 PM ESTF4Monticello tornado108.71,76018285$50 million to $500 million
October 23, 19714:30 PM ESTF1Cass0.330$50 to $500
April 29, 19637:49 PM GMT-5F3Carroll23.110$5,000 to $50,000
June 22, 19618:30 PM GMT-5F2Cass0.110$500 to $5,000
May 16, 19603:15 PM GMT-5F1Cass2.1880$500 to $5,000
September 28, 19597:00 PM GMT-5F2Cass0.110$500 to $5,000
June 13, 19581:40 AM GMT-5F2White8.450$5,000 to $50,000
June 13, 19581:28 AM GMT-5F2Cass0.110$5,000 to $50,000
August 12, 195612:40 AM GMT-5F1Cass2.7200$5,000 to $50,000
March 6, 195610:00 PM GMT-5F2Cass2.0301$5,000 to $50,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Cass CountyThe forecast for Cass CountyThe live radar over Cass CountyEvery county in Indiana

What this means

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.

Sources

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