Tornadoes · United States · Indiana

Tornadoes in Tippecanoe County, Indiana

58 tornadoes have crossed Tippecanoe County since 1950, 2nd of the 92 counties in Indiana with a tornado on record, an average of one every 1.3 years. They have killed 24 people and injured 430. 4 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
58
Deaths
24
Injuries
430
F4 and above
4
Worst on record
F4, April 3, 1974

The deadliest in Tippecanoe County

  1. F4 Monticello tornado, IndianaApril 3, 197418 killed, 285 injured
  2. F4, Tippecanoe and Carroll counties, IndianaApril 26, 19943 killed, 70 injured
  3. F3, Champaign, Vermilion, Warren, Fountain, Tippecanoe and Clinton counties, Illinois and IndianaApril 9, 19533 killed, 22 injured

The strongest

  1. F4 Monticello tornado, IndianaApril 3, 1974F4, 108.7 mi (175 km)
  2. F4, Tippecanoe and Clinton counties, IndianaApril 11, 1965F4, 21.8 mi (35 km)
  3. F4, Tippecanoe and Carroll counties, IndianaMarch 20, 1976F4, 16.7 mi (27 km)
  4. F4, Tippecanoe and Carroll counties, IndianaApril 26, 1994F4, 14.0 mi (23 km)
  5. F3, Champaign, Vermilion, Warren, Fountain, Tippecanoe and Clinton counties, Illinois and IndianaApril 9, 1953F3, 156.7 mi (252 km)
  6. EF3, Tippecanoe, Clinton, Carroll and Cass counties, IndianaNovember 17, 2013EF3, 37.9 mi (61 km)
  7. F3, Tippecanoe and Clinton counties, IndianaJune 25, 1978F3, 27.4 mi (44 km)
  8. EF2, Fountain, Montgomery and Tippecanoe counties, IndianaNovember 17, 2013EF2, 12.7 mi (20 km)
  9. F2, Tippecanoe County, IndianaApril 10, 1978F2, 8.0 mi (13 km)
  10. EF2, Tippecanoe County, IndianaNovember 17, 2013EF2, 3.1 mi (5 km)

Every year with a tornado

The 31 years of the 76 in the record with a tornado in Tippecanoe County. Each year links to every tornado in Indiana that year.

YearTornadoesDeathsInjuriesStrongest
20252EF0
20211EF1
20181EF0
20171EF0
20162EF1
20152EF1
20136EF3
20112EF1
20064F1
20051F0
20042F2
20033F0
199911F1
19981F1
19941370F4
19932F1
19911F0
19811F1
19801F2
19785F3
197628F4
1974218285F4
19733F1
19711F2
19681F2
19671F2
1965244F4
19632F2
19611F1
19561F2
19532322F3

Every tornado that crossed Tippecanoe County

58 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.

DateTimeRatingWherePath (mi)Width (yd)DeathsInjuriesDamage
June 18, 20253:10 PM EDTEF0Tippecanoe0.320$25,000
June 18, 20253:02 PM EDTEF0Tippecanoe0.630$20,000
June 25, 20218:18 PM EDTEF1Tippecanoe2.250$116,000
April 3, 20187:11 PM EDTEF0Tippecanoe0.640$25,000
November 18, 201711:15 AM ESTEF0Tippecanoe0.3110$8,000
August 15, 20165:56 PM EDTEF0Tippecanoe0.540$4,000
March 31, 20164:40 PM EDTEF1Tippecanoe0.130$50,000
July 17, 20154:38 PM EDTEF1Tippecanoe0.4100$30,000
July 17, 20154:33 PM EDTEF1Tippecanoe0.275$35,000
November 17, 20132:56 PM ESTEF1Tippecanoe2.935$10,000
November 17, 20132:54 PM ESTEF3Tippecanoe37.9100$785,000
November 17, 20132:52 PM ESTEF2Tippecanoe3.175$125,000
November 17, 20132:51 PM ESTEF0Tippecanoe0.350$21,000
November 17, 20132:47 PM ESTEF1Tippecanoe3.950$18,000
November 17, 20132:32 PM ESTEF2Fountain12.775$186,000
April 19, 20119:50 PM EDTEF0Tippecanoe2.650$15,000
April 19, 20119:40 PM EDTEF1Tippecanoe0.7100$80,000
June 25, 20063:10 PM EDTF0Tippecanoe0.275$3,000
April 14, 20068:18 PM EDTF1Carroll2.3100$60,000
April 14, 20067:58 PM EDTF0Tippecanoe3.275
April 2, 20069:25 PM EDTF1Tippecanoe0.5100$50,000
July 26, 20058:00 PM ESTF0Tippecanoe0.150$10,000
May 30, 20047:29 PM ESTF2Tippecanoe1.875$1.0 million
May 30, 20047:26 PM ESTF0Tippecanoe0.120
July 21, 20034:00 AM ESTF0Tippecanoe0.550
June 11, 20037:00 PM ESTF0Tippecanoe0.530
June 11, 20036:47 PM ESTF0Tippecanoe0.130
September 28, 19996:54 PM ESTF1Tippecanoe3.89001$300,000
July 4, 19981:30 AM ESTF1Tippecanoe8.0120$200,000
April 26, 199411:58 PM ESTF4Tippecanoe14.0100370$500,000 to $5 million
June 8, 19936:40 PM ESTF1Tippecanoe10.060$5,000 to $50,000
June 8, 19936:38 PM ESTF0Tippecanoe0.120
March 27, 19916:10 PM ESTF0Tippecanoe0.210
June 24, 19818:47 PM ESTF1Tippecanoe1.027$50,000 to $500,000
June 7, 19805:15 PM ESTF2Tippecanoe0.110
July 2, 19781:15 PM ESTF1Tippecanoe8.3170$5,000 to $50,000
June 25, 19786:00 PM ESTF3Tippecanoe27.410
June 25, 19784:55 PM ESTF0Tippecanoe0.110
April 23, 19787:00 PM ESTF1Tippecanoe0.5100$50,000 to $500,000
April 10, 19781:15 PM ESTF2Tippecanoe8.077$5,000 to $50,000
March 20, 19764:20 PM ESTF4Tippecanoe16.73008$500,000 to $5 million
March 12, 19763:25 PM ESTF1Tippecanoe5.2100
April 3, 19744:45 PM ESTF4Monticello tornado108.71,76018285$50 million to $500 million
April 1, 19745:32 PM ESTF2Tippecanoe1.577$5,000 to $50,000
June 12, 197311:29 AM ESTF1Tippecanoe0.120under $50
June 12, 197310:45 AM ESTF1Tippecanoe0.120$5,000 to $50,000
May 29, 19733:20 PM ESTF0Tippecanoe17.520under $50
March 19, 19713:03 AM ESTF2Tippecanoe0.520$5,000 to $50,000
May 15, 196810:51 PM GMT-5F2Tippecanoe0.110$500 to $5,000
June 24, 19671:30 PM GMT-5F2Tippecanoe0.150$500 to $5,000
September 14, 19659:15 PM GMT-5F2Tippecanoe1.3400$50,000 to $500,000
April 11, 19657:07 PM GMT-5F4Tippecanoe21.850044
June 10, 19631:00 PM GMT-5F1Tippecanoe0.110$500 to $5,000
April 22, 19639:15 PM GMT-5F2Tippecanoe1.0100$500 to $5,000
March 6, 19617:05 AM GMT-5F1Tippecanoe0.110$50 to $500
April 3, 19566:00 PM GMT-5F2Tippecanoe0.110$5,000 to $50,000
June 13, 195310:00 PM GMT-5F1Tippecanoe0.110$50 to $500
April 9, 19535:15 PM GMT-6F3Champaign to IN156.7750322$5 million to $50 million

Nearby

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