NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Elkhart, 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
4 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Elkhart, Indiana since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 101 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 101
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
101 deaths in all
What the records show for Elkhart
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Elkhart; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 41 miles away. The record near Elkhart begins with an unnamed storm in 1923; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Of the 4 systems, one has come since 2000. Of the 356 Indiana cities on this site, 37% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Elkhart. The highest rating among the 101 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 4 times; the most recent, on April 3, 1974, came within 23 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 11, 1965, killed 36 people. Of the 101, 11 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 38 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 28. The most recent tornado was on March 30, 2025. Of the 356 Indiana cities, 54% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Elkhart. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 105 times since 1955, with stones up to 2 inches (hen egg size). Elkhart has more hail reports within 10 miles than 84% of the 356 Indiana cities.
Compare Elkhart's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Elkhart
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 41 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 22 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Elkhart: 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 Elkhart
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s21
- 2000s9(2 EF3+)
- 1990s12
- 1980s9
- 1970s11(1 EF3+)
- 1960s21(5 EF3+)
- 1950s10
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 3 mi | 37 mi | 36 / 321 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 6 mi | 21.2 mi | 31 / 252 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 23 mi | 108.7 mi | 18 / 285 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 15 mi | 21.6 mi | 5 / 41 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F3 | 4 mi | 35.6 mi | 10 / 82 |
| Oct 24, 2001 | F3 | 11 mi | 47 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Oct 18, 2007 | EF3 | 13 mi | 20.33 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 30, 1962 | F3 | 5 mi | 36.5 mi | 0 / 49 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF2 | 17 mi | 10.65 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF2 | 19 mi | 2.73 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 24, 2001 | F2 | 4 mi | 4.6 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Aug 25, 1998 | F2 | 5 mi | 26 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 101, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Elkhart
The Storm Prediction Center has 105 hail reports within 10 miles of Elkhart since 1955, made on 60 separate days. Of these, 61 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2 inches (hen egg size), was reported on 2 days, most recently July 20, 2023. The most recent report is from July 20, 2023. June has the most reports, 38.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Elkhart
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Goshen 3SW, IN, 10 miles southeast of Elkhart at 875 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 32°F and 18°F. May is the wettest at 4.3 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.3 inches; the year adds up to 39.9 inches over 79 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 12 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 125 nights a year. Snowfall averages 45.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 39.9 inches is more than at 21 of the 115 Indiana stations used on this site (18%). Osceola, 6 miles west, has its own station (South Bend Michiana Regional Airport, IN): 39.3 inches a year, 0.6 less than here, and the same July average high, 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 32 | 18 | 2.8 | 6 | 13.8 |
| Feb | 36 | 20 | 2.3 | 6 | 11.4 |
| Mar | 47 | 29 | 2.4 | 6 | 5.4 |
| Apr | 60 | 39 | 3.8 | 8 | 1.2 |
| May | 72 | 50 | 4.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 60 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 63 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 61 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 54 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 43 | 3.3 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 48 | 33 | 3.0 | 6 | 3.4 |
| Dec | 37 | 24 | 2.5 | 6 | 9.9 |
| Year | 60 | 41 | 39.9 | 79 | 45.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Goshen 3SW, IN (875 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 Elkhart
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 295 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Elkhart: 276 thunderstorm wind reports, 13 floods, 4 lightning strikes, 1 flash flood and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $4.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 84 mph, on May 9, 2000.
July 11, 2011: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Elkhart — 1 injured.
June 18, 2014: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Elkhart — 1 injured.
June 13, 2017: lightning strike 2 miles from the centre of Elkhart — 1 injured.
NWS: “Local media reported lightning struck a tree, injuring a person standing next to it.”
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 Elkhart's 3 ZIP codes have filed 235 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $1.8 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1982: 70 claims (30% of all) and $200,000. The year with the most claims was 2018, with 74. 31% 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, 141 have fewer than Elkhart.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1982 | 70 | $200,000 |
Elkhart County, which includes Elkhart, has been named in 13 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 6 of them major disasters (by incident: 4 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 2 severe storms). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 3, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Elkhart County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding and lightning; Relatively Low for heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $49.3 million a year, the 12th highest of 92 Indiana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $23.1 million (47%), 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.