Tornadoes · United States · Indiana

Tornadoes in Switzerland County, Indiana

11 tornadoes have crossed Switzerland County since 1950, 1 of them surveyed so far this year and still preliminary, 84th of the 92 counties in Indiana with a tornado on record, an average of one every 6.9 years. They have killed 1 person and injured 116. 2 were 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
11
Deaths
1
Injuries
116
F4 and above
2
Worst on record
F4, November 22, 1992

The deadliest in Switzerland County

  1. F4, Carroll, Switzerland and Boone counties, Kentucky and IndianaNovember 22, 19921 killed, 10 injured

The strongest

  1. F4, Jefferson, Switzerland, Ohio and Dearborn counties, IndianaApril 3, 1974F4, 27.1 mi (44 km)
  2. F4, Carroll, Switzerland and Boone counties, Kentucky and IndianaNovember 22, 1992F4, 26.7 mi (43 km)
  3. EF2, Jefferson, Trimble, Carroll and Switzerland counties, Indiana and KentuckyMarch 14, 2024EF2, 18.0 mi (29 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 11 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Switzerland County. Each year links to every tornado in Indiana that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20261EF1
20251Unrated
202412EF2
20121EF0
20111EF1
19921110F4
19891F0
19801F1
19751F0
19741104F4
19561F0

Every tornado that crossed Switzerland County

11 tornadoes, newest first. 1 of them touched down in a neighboring state and ran in, so the record files it under that state rather than Indiana. The 1 at the top is this year's, from the surveying office rather than SPC's published database, and its rating is marked as preliminary.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 18, 20263:45 AM EDTEF1Switzerland to KY10.0750
July 20, 20254:31 PM EDTUnratedSwitzerland0.750
March 14, 20241:58 PM EDTEF2Jefferson to KY18.05002$320,000
March 23, 20124:30 PM EDTEF0Switzerland0.125
April 19, 20111:04 AM EDTEF1Switzerland1.867$90,000
November 22, 19922:52 PM CSTF4Carroll to IN26.760110$500,000 to $5 million
July 23, 19892:51 PM ESTF0Switzerland2.510
April 8, 19802:20 PM ESTF1Switzerland0.560$500 to $5,000
June 11, 19756:45 PM ESTF0Switzerland0.223$500 to $5,000
April 3, 19743:40 PM ESTF4Jefferson27.11,133104$5 million to $50 million
February 25, 19567:45 AM GMT-5F0Switzerland0.357$500 to $5,000

Nearby

Warnings in force in Switzerland CountyThe forecast for Switzerland CountyThe live radar over Switzerland 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.