Counties with the most tornadoes in Indiana

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August 31, 2023
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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.

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#50. Hamilton County

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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