Counties with the most tornadoes in Indiana

It's been a busy year for tornadoes in the U.S. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, as many as 1,155 twisters have touched down across the country since the start of the year, above the average for this time of year.

A single day can drive up tornado counts. March 31, 2023, accounted for 163 tornadoes across the Midwest and South. Tornado activity usually peaks in the spring and early summer, and the pace of tornadoes usually slows around late summer. A smaller-scale second tornado season emerges in the fall, mostly in the Gulf Coast states.

Stacker used data from NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information to find the counties in Indiana that have experienced the most tornadoes since 2000. While data is available going back to 1950, tornado tracking by the National Weather Service became more robust and accurate in the 1990s. Since counties can vary in size, they are ranked by the number of tornadoes per 100 square miles. Counties that experienced less than five tornadoes are not included.

The counties that encounter the most tornadoes aren't all in the infamous Tornado Alley. When adjusted for county area, the top 10 counties that experienced the most tornadoes since 2000 are from nine different states, all in the Southeast with the exception of Cleveland County, Oklahoma.

Research has shown that Tornado Alley is shifting due to warming temperatures fueled by climate change. In the future, the Southeast could become the region that receives the bulk of the country's tornadoes. It's a concerning trend as the South is more populated than the Great Plains and has a higher concentration of mobile homes than other parts of the country, making the storms potentially deadlier and costlier.

As of August 2023, 75 people have died from tornadoes this year, and over 60% of those deaths occurred in mobile homes.

The best way to stay protected during tornadoes is to have multiple ways of receiving storm updates including social media, radio, television, and sirens, and to immediately seek shelter in a basement or interior room without windows when a tornado watch escalates to a warning.

Read on to see which counties experience the most tornadoes in Indiana.

You may also like: Car insurance rates in Indiana

Canva

1 / 50

#50. Hamilton County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 7 (1.78 per 100 square miles)
- #1,224 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

Roberto Galan // Shutterstock

2 / 50

#49. Henry County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 7 (1.79 per 100 square miles)
- #1,217 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

Canva

3 / 50

#48. LaPorte County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 11 (1.84 per 100 square miles)
- #1,172 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

Melinda Fawver // Shutterstock

4 / 50

#47. Harrison County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 9 (1.86 per 100 square miles)
- #1,160 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

Wirestock Creators // Shutterstock

5 / 50

#46. Dearborn County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (1.97 per 100 square miles)
- #1,088 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

You may also like: As more states adopt traffic enforcement cameras, here's where Indiana stands

Roberto Galan // Shutterstock

6 / 50

#45. Delaware County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (2.04 per 100 square miles)
- #1,026 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

Canva

7 / 50

#44. Elkhart County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (2.16 per 100 square miles)
- #953 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

Roberto Galan // Shutterstock

8 / 50

#43. Rush County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 9 (2.21 per 100 square miles)
- #929 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

Canva

9 / 50

#42. Jefferson County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (2.22 per 100 square miles)
- #914 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

Canva

10 / 50

#41. Orange County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 9 (2.26 per 100 square miles)
- #880 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

You may also like: Average Indiana mortgage debt increased to $152,712 in 2024

Roberto Galan // Shutterstock

11 / 50

#40. Steuben County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 7 (2.27 per 100 square miles)
- #876 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

Canva

12 / 50

#39. Hancock County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 7 (2.29 per 100 square miles)
- #863 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

Canva

13 / 50

#38. Jasper County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 13 (2.32 per 100 square miles)
- #844 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

Roberto Galan // Shutterstock

14 / 50

#37. Daviess County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (2.33 per 100 square miles)
- #838 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

Roberto Galan // Shutterstock

15 / 50

#36. Huntington County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 9 (2.35 per 100 square miles)
- #825 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

You may also like: Highest-rated museums in Indiana by visitors

Canva

16 / 50

#35. Montgomery County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 12 (2.38 per 100 square miles)
- #804 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 3

Canva

17 / 50

#34. Decatur County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 9 (2.42 per 100 square miles)
- #775 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

Canva

18 / 50

#33. Cass County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (2.43 per 100 square miles)
- #769 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

Roberto Galan // Shutterstock

19 / 50

#32. Shelby County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (2.43 per 100 square miles)
- #764 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

Roberto Galan // Shutterstock

20 / 50

#31. Benton County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (2.46 per 100 square miles)
- #746 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 3

You may also like: More electric vehicles means less gas tax revenue: How this impacts Indiana's budget

Canva

21 / 50

#30. Gibson County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 12 (2.46 per 100 square miles)
- #745 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

RozenskiP // Shutterstock

22 / 50

#29. Ripley County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 11 (2.46 per 100 square miles)
- #743 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

Roberto Galan // Shutterstock

23 / 50

#28. Morgan County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (2.48 per 100 square miles)
- #738 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

Kenneth Keifer // Shutterstock

24 / 50

#27. Lawrence County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 12 (2.67 per 100 square miles)
- #643 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

Canva

25 / 50

#26. Miami County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (2.67 per 100 square miles)
- #642 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

You may also like: Highest-rated things to do in Indiana by visitors

Canva

26 / 50

#25. Posey County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 11 (2.69 per 100 square miles)
- #637 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

Canva

27 / 50

#24. Carroll County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (2.69 per 100 square miles)
- #636 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

Canva

28 / 50

#23. Newton County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 11 (2.74 per 100 square miles)
- #616 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

Canva

29 / 50

#22. Perry County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 11 (2.88 per 100 square miles)
- #557 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

Felix Mizioznikov // Shutterstock

30 / 50

#21. White County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 15 (2.97 per 100 square miles)
- #513 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

You may also like: How gas prices have changed in Indiana in the last week

Canva

31 / 50

#20. St. Joseph County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 14 (3.06 per 100 square miles)
- #477 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

Canva

32 / 50

#19. Boone County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 13 (3.07 per 100 square miles)
- #472 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

Canva

33 / 50

#18. Warrick County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 12 (3.12 per 100 square miles)
- #455 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

Roberto Galan // Shutterstock

34 / 50

#17. Johnson County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 10 (3.12 per 100 square miles)
- #454 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

Canva

35 / 50

#16. Grant County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 13 (3.14 per 100 square miles)
- #445 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

You may also like: The most popular grocery items for Christmas in Indiana, according to Instacart

shutter_breaker // Shutterstock

36 / 50

#15. Scott County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 6 (3.15 per 100 square miles)
- #439 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

Canva

37 / 50

#14. Wabash County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 13 (3.15 per 100 square miles)
- #438 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

Canva

38 / 50

#13. Kosciusko County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 17 (3.20 per 100 square miles)
- #415 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

Canva

39 / 50

#12. Clark County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 12 (3.22 per 100 square miles)
- #405 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

Canva

40 / 50

#11. Spencer County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 13 (3.28 per 100 square miles)
- #389 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

You may also like: Best counties to raise a family in Indiana

Sean Pavone // Shutterstock

41 / 50

#10. Marion County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 13 (3.28 per 100 square miles)
- #388 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

Roberto Galan // Shutterstock

42 / 50

#9. Hendricks County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 14 (3.44 per 100 square miles)
- #342 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

Canva

43 / 50

#8. Lake County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 18 (3.61 per 100 square miles)
- #304 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 1

SevenMaps // Shutterstock

44 / 50

#7. Washington County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 19 (3.70 per 100 square miles)
- #283 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

Roberto Galan // Shutterstock

45 / 50

#6. Dubois County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 16 (3.74 per 100 square miles)
- #276 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

You may also like: Cities with the fastest-growing home prices in Indiana

Tom Reichner // Shutterstock

46 / 50

#5. Pike County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 14 (4.19 per 100 square miles)
- #200 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

Canva

47 / 50

#4. Tippecanoe County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 25 (5.00 per 100 square miles)
- #107 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 0

Canva

48 / 50

#3. Howard County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 15 (5.12 per 100 square miles)
- #98 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 3

Canva

49 / 50

#2. Vanderburgh County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 12 (5.14 per 100 square miles)
- #97 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 2

Canva

50 / 50

#1. Floyd County

- Tornadoes since 2000: 8 (5.41 per 100 square miles)
- #80 nationally
- Tornadoes this year, as of May 31: 5

You may also like: Computer science has gone mainstream in US education, yet young women are still underrepresented in Indiana