NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Fort Branch, 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 Fort Branch, Indiana since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 148 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 148
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
35 deaths in all
What the records show for Fort Branch
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Fort Branch; the strongest was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm with 41 mph winds when its centre passed 35 miles away. The record near Fort Branch begins with an unnamed storm in 1915; the most recent system was Helene in 2024. Of the 4 systems, 2 have come since 2000. Of the 356 Indiana cities on this site, 37% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Fort Branch. The highest rating among the 148 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on June 2, 1990, came within 15 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on November 6, 2005, killed 24 people. Of the 148, 11 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 80 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 43. The most recent tornado was on December 28, 2025. Fort Branch has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 94% of the 356 Indiana cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 79 times since 1963, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Fort Branch has more hail reports within 10 miles than 66% of the 356 Indiana cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Fort Branch
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 28 | 35 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 4 |
| 2019 | OlgaOct 26 | 56 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 16 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Fort Branch: 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 Fort Branch
By decade
- 2020s35(1 EF3+)
- 2010s30(1 EF3+)
- 2000s15(1 EF3+)
- 1990s22(2 EF3+)
- 1980s17(2 EF3+)
- 1970s13
- 1960s8
- 1950s8(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2, 1990 | F4 | 16 mi | 13 mi | 6 / 60 |
| Jun 2, 1990 | F4 | 15 mi | 106 mi | 1 / 12 |
| Jan 7, 1989 | F4 | 20 mi | 19 mi | 0 / 55 |
| Nov 6, 2005 | F3 | 21 mi | 41.3 mi | 24 / 238 |
| Feb 28, 2017 | EF3 | 2 mi | 44.13 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Jul 9, 2024 | EF3 | 22 mi | 5.84 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 3, 1989 | F3 | in town | 3.1 mi | 0 / 8 |
| Nov 15, 1955 | F3 | 19 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 9 |
| Jan 29, 2008 | EF2 | 10 mi | 7.01 mi | 2 / 0 |
| Apr 11, 1979 | F2 | 18 mi | 10 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Apr 2, 2025 | EF2 | 9 mi | 10.6 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 15, 2025 | EF2 | 2 mi | 57.49 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 148, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Fort Branch
The Storm Prediction Center has 79 hail reports within 10 miles of Fort Branch since 1963, made on 64 separate days. Of these, 44 were 1 inch across or larger, and 7 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on May 3, 1996. The most recent report is from March 19, 2025. March has the most reports, 19.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Fort Branch
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Princeton 1 W, IN, 8 miles north of Fort Branch at 480 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 40°F and 21°F. May is the wettest at 5.7 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 3.2 inches; the year adds up to 49.9 inches over 73 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 38 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 100 nights a year. Snowfall averages 12.2 inches a year, most of it in December. That 49.9 inches is more than at 104 of the 115 Indiana stations used on this site (90%). Haubstadt, 4 miles south, has its own station (Evansville Regional Airport, IN): 47.9 inches a year, 2.0 less than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 88°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 40 | 21 | 3.4 | 6 | 3.6 |
| Feb | 45 | 24 | 3.2 | 5 | 3.4 |
| Mar | 55 | 32 | 4.5 | 7 | 1.2 |
| Apr | 67 | 43 | 5.3 | 8 | 0.0 |
| May | 77 | 54 | 5.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 85 | 63 | 4.5 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 88 | 66 | 4.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 87 | 64 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 81 | 57 | 4.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 69 | 45 | 3.4 | 5 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 55 | 33 | 4.1 | 5 | 0.2 |
| Dec | 44 | 26 | 3.8 | 6 | 3.7 |
| Year | 66 | 44 | 49.9 | 73 | 12.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Princeton 1 W, IN (480 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 Fort Branch
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 186 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Fort Branch: 130 thunderstorm wind reports, 23 floods, 18 flash floods, 13 heavy rain events and 2 lightning strikes. They killed 1 person and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $4.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 96 mph, on June 22, 2009. June has had the most flash floods, 5 of 18. Of the 337 Indiana cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 243 have had fewer than Fort Branch.
May 30, 2015: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Fort Branch — 1 killed, 1 injured, $2,000 damage.
June 12, 1998: thunderstorm wind 8 miles from the centre of Fort Branch — 2 injured, $500,000 damage.
January 3, 2005: flood 4 miles from the centre of Fort Branch — $500,000 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
Gibson County, which includes Fort Branch, has been named in 22 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 18 of them major disasters (by incident: 12 severe storms, 5 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 3, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Gibson County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, 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 $17.8 million a year, the 33rd highest of 92 Indiana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $5.0 million (28%), 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 Fort Branch
- Haubstadt, IN4 mi
- Princeton, IN7 mi
- Elberfeld, IN9 mi
- Owensville, IN10 mi
- Poseyville, IN13 mi
- Oakland City, IN13 mi
- Wadesville, IN16 mi
- Chandler, IN16 mi
- Evansville, IN17 mi
- Mount Carmel, IL18 mi
- Boonville, IN20 mi
- New Harmony, IN21 mi
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