NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Auburn, IN
Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.
Data: NOAA NHC HURDAT2 and NOAA SPC tornado and hail reports, through 2025 · Updated
6 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Auburn, Indiana since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 79 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 5 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 79
- EF3 or stronger
- 5
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
8 deaths in all
What the records show for Auburn
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Auburn; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 5 miles away. The record near Auburn begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Of the 6 systems, one has come since 2000. Auburn is tied for the most tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles among the 356 Indiana cities on this site. The highest rating among the 79 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 5 times; the most recent, on August 24, 2016, came within 15 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on April 3, 1974, killed 5 people. Of the 79, 3 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 33 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 16. The most recent tornado was on March 30, 2025. Of the 356 Indiana cities, 89% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Auburn. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 64 times since 1974, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Auburn has more hail reports within 10 miles than 51% of the 356 Indiana cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Auburn
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 75 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 42 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 69 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Auburn: a hurricane's worst winds sit within a few dozen miles of its centre, and inland cities are usually past that.
Tornadoes within 25 miles of Auburn
By decade
- 2020s9
- 2010s8(1 EF3+)
- 2000s16
- 1990s9(1 EF3+)
- 1980s3
- 1970s13(1 EF3+)
- 1960s15(2 EF3+)
- 1950s6
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 16 mi | 36.2 mi | 5 / 53 |
| Mar 27, 1991 | F3 | 12 mi | 21 mi | 1 / 24 |
| May 16, 1968 | F3 | 18 mi | 50.3 mi | 1 / 15 |
| Aug 24, 2016 | EF3 | 15 mi | 5.16 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 6, 1961 | F3 | 14 mi | 33.4 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 13 mi | 7.86 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 24, 2016 | EF2 | 21 mi | 4.42 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 24, 2001 | F2 | 11 mi | 12.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 26, 2001 | F2 | 20 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 14, 2000 | F2 | 6 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 8, 1992 | F2 | 20 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 9 |
| Jul 14, 1992 | F2 | 9 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 28 |
The strongest 12 of 79, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Auburn
The Storm Prediction Center has 64 hail reports within 10 miles of Auburn since 1974, made on 44 separate days. Of these, 34 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on May 7, 2024. The most recent report is from April 2, 2025. May has the most reports, 18.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Auburn
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Garrett 1 S, IN, 4 miles west of Auburn at 870 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 81°F and low of 60°F; January is the coolest, at 30°F and 17°F. May is the wettest at 4.7 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.3 inches; the year adds up to 39.5 inches over 81 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 11 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 129 nights a year. Snowfall averages 36.0 inches a year, most of it in January. That 39.5 inches is more than at 14 of the 115 Indiana stations used on this site (12%). Garrett, 5 miles west, has its own station (Garrett, IN): 38.2 inches a year, 1.3 less than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 81°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30 | 17 | 2.5 | 7 | 10.6 |
| Feb | 34 | 19 | 2.3 | 6 | 9.7 |
| Mar | 46 | 27 | 2.7 | 6 | 4.8 |
| Apr | 59 | 37 | 4.0 | 8 | 1.2 |
| May | 70 | 48 | 4.7 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 78 | 57 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 81 | 60 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 79 | 58 | 3.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 73 | 51 | 3.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 61 | 41 | 3.0 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 47 | 31 | 3.1 | 7 | 2.5 |
| Dec | 35 | 22 | 2.6 | 6 | 7.1 |
| Year | 58 | 39 | 39.5 | 81 | 36.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Garrett 1 S, IN (870 ft), from NOAA NCEI U.S. Climate Normals. Normals describe the station; the farther a place is from it, and the bigger the difference in height, the more its weather can differ.
Floods, thunderstorm wind and lightning near Auburn
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 100 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Auburn: 94 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 floods, 2 lightning strikes and 1 flash flood. They killed 1 person and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $1.5 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on August 22, 2001.
August 9, 2011: thunderstorm wind 1 mile from the centre of Auburn — 1 killed.
NWS: “Law enforcement officials reported multiple trees down along 7th Street. One of these trees in the 400 block of 7th Street, fell onto a westbound United Parcel Service truck, striking the driver compartment.”
July 16, 2024: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of Auburn — 1 injured, $75,000 damage.
NWS: “State police report a semi truck driver was injured when a tree fell onto the cab of the truck.”
May 27, 2015: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Auburn — 1 injured.
Source: NOAA NCEI Storm Events Database, events whose starting point is on record, 1996 to June 30, 2026. Damage is the NWS estimate in the dollars of the year, not insured losses, and NWS notes that some reports are unverified.
Flood insurance claims, disaster declarations and FEMA risk ratings
Flood insurance policyholders in Auburn's ZIP code 46706 have filed 52 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $1.3 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1982: 17 claims (33% of all) and $151,000. The year with the most claims was 2009, with 27. 33% of the claims carry the name of a storm or flood event; the rest have no event name. Of the 155 Indiana cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 86 have fewer than Auburn.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1982 | 17 | $151,000 |
DeKalb County, which includes Auburn, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1982, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 severe storms, 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 3, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives DeKalb County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $13.4 million a year, the 47th highest of 92 Indiana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.2 million (54%), is from inland flooding.
Claims: FEMA, OpenFEMA Dataset FIMA NFIP Redacted Claims – v3, summed over ZIP codes; payments in the dollars of each year, not adjusted for inflation. Declarations: Disaster Declarations Summaries – v2, by county. Retrieved October 25, 2026. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's OpenFEMA API, but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
Risk ratings: FEMA, National Risk Index county table, December 2025 (v1.20), retrieved October 26, 2026; ratings compare counties nationwide, are meant for planning and are no substitute for a local risk assessment. This product uses the Federal Emergency Management Agency's National Risk Index dataset API or downloadable datasets but is not endorsed by FEMA. The Federal Government or FEMA cannot vouch for the data or analyses derived from these data after the data have been retrieved from the Agency's website(s).
What counts as a pass, the distances and the sources: how this storm history is built.
Cities near Auburn
- Garrett, IN5 mi
- Waterloo, IN6 mi
- Spencerville, IN8 mi
- Leo, IN9 mi
- Huntertown, IN10 mi
- Avilla, IN10 mi
- Butler, IN10 mi
- Grabill, IN12 mi
- Kendallville, IN13 mi
- Harlan, IN14 mi
- Hudson, IN15 mi
- Hamilton, IN16 mi
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