NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Decatur, 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 Decatur, Indiana since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 105 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 6
- Tornadoes
- 105
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
11 deaths in all
What the records show for Decatur
None of the 6 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Decatur; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 37 miles away. The record near Decatur begins with an unnamed storm in 1892; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Of the 6 systems, one has come since 2000. Decatur 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 105 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on November 10, 2002, came within 9 miles. Of the 105, 9 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 50 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 22. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2025. Decatur has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 51% of the 356 Indiana cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 73 times since 1970, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Decatur has more hail reports within 10 miles than 60% of the 356 Indiana cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Decatur
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 74 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 7 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 67 mi | Tropical storm (54 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Decatur: 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 Decatur
By decade
- 2020s12
- 2010s23(3 EF3+)
- 2000s15(2 EF3+)
- 1990s16(1 EF3+)
- 1980s8
- 1970s13
- 1960s9(2 EF3+)
- 1950s9
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 10, 2002 | F4 | 9 mi | 52.8 mi | 4 / 17 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 12 mi | 52.5 mi | 4 / 125 |
| Feb 18, 1992 | F4 | 20 mi | 2.8 mi | 0 / 6 |
| May 27, 2019 | EF3 | 23 mi | 10.84 mi | 1 / 8 |
| May 16, 1968 | F3 | 18 mi | 50.3 mi | 1 / 15 |
| May 27, 2019 | EF3 | 21 mi | 12.76 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Aug 24, 2016 | EF3 | 22 mi | 5.16 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 10, 2002 | F3 | 8 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 20 mi | 7.86 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 18, 2021 | EF2 | 21 mi | 5.38 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 5, 2017 | EF2 | 22 mi | 38.72 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 22, 2016 | EF2 | 25 mi | 2.35 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 105, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Decatur
The Storm Prediction Center has 73 hail reports within 10 miles of Decatur since 1970, made on 45 separate days. Of these, 31 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on May 10, 2011. The most recent report is from April 2, 2025. May has the most reports, 24.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Decatur
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Decatur 1 N, IN, 1 mile north of Decatur at 785 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 18°F. May is the wettest at 4.8 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.1 inches; the year adds up to 40.7 inches over 78 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 18 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 127 nights a year. Snowfall averages 28.1 inches a year, most of it in January. That 40.7 inches is more than at 33 of the 115 Indiana stations used on this site (29%). Monroe, 7 miles south, has its own station (Berne Wwtp, IN): 42.0 inches a year, 1.3 more than here, and the same July average high, 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 18 | 2.5 | 6 | 9.2 |
| Feb | 36 | 20 | 2.1 | 5 | 7.5 |
| Mar | 48 | 29 | 2.8 | 6 | 4.2 |
| Apr | 61 | 39 | 4.1 | 8 | 0.5 |
| May | 72 | 50 | 4.8 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 60 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 63 | 4.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 61 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 53 | 3.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 64 | 42 | 2.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Nov | 50 | 33 | 3.0 | 6 | 1.2 |
| Dec | 38 | 24 | 2.6 | 6 | 5.5 |
| Year | 60 | 41 | 40.7 | 78 | 28.1 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Decatur 1 N, IN (785 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 Decatur
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 116 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Decatur: 102 thunderstorm wind reports, 7 floods, 4 flash floods, 2 lightning strikes and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 0 people and injured 2, and the NWS estimated $828,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 86 mph, on June 29, 2012.
May 24, 2017: flash flood 9 miles from the centre of Decatur — 2 injured.
May 30, 2008: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Decatur — $226,000 damage.
NWS: “Straight line wind damage was observed from near the intersection of State Route 101 and East 750 North southeast to just north of US 224 at North 600 East. At least five barns of varying size and age suffered damage with two destroyed.”
June 22, 2006: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Decatur — $100,000 damage.
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 Decatur's ZIP code 46733 have filed 103 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $989,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2003, with 63. 9% 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, 115 have fewer than Decatur.
Adams County, which includes Decatur, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 severe storms, 4 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 Adams County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $11.9 million a year, the 59th highest of 92 Indiana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.6 million (55%), 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 Decatur
- Monroe, IN7 mi
- Monroeville, IN11 mi
- Berne, IN12 mi
- Ossian, IN12 mi
- Convoy, OH13 mi
- Bluffton, IN14 mi
- Ohio City, OH15 mi
- Geneva, IN16 mi
- Rockford, OH17 mi
- New Haven, IN17 mi
- Van Wert, OH19 mi
- Markle, IN19 mi
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