NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Fort Wayne, 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
5 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Fort Wayne, Indiana since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 93 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 2 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 5
- Tornadoes
- 93
- EF3 or stronger
- 2
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Fort Wayne
None of the 5 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Fort Wayne; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 17 miles away. The record near Fort Wayne begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Of the 5 systems, one has come since 2000. Fort Wayne has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 63% of the 356 Indiana cities on this site. The highest rating among the 93 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3 or EF3, reached 2 times; the most recent, on August 24, 2016, came within 12 miles. The deadliest, an F1 on March 12, 1976, killed 1 person. Of the 93, 10 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 30 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 20. The most recent tornado was on March 30, 2025. Of the 356 Indiana cities, 69% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Fort Wayne. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 189 times since 1957, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Fort Wayne has more hail reports within 10 miles than 96% of the 356 Indiana cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Fort Wayne
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 17 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 48 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 28 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 Fort Wayne: 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 Wayne
By decade
- 2020s7
- 2010s7(1 EF3+)
- 2000s16
- 1990s16
- 1980s7
- 1970s18
- 1960s13(1 EF3+)
- 1950s9
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 16, 1968 | F3 | 3 mi | 50.3 mi | 1 / 15 |
| Aug 24, 2016 | EF3 | 12 mi | 5.16 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 6 mi | 7.86 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 26, 2001 | F2 | 2 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 14, 2000 | F2 | 13 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 8, 1992 | F2 | 2 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 9 |
| Jul 14, 1992 | F2 | 25 mi | 8 mi | 0 / 28 |
| Jul 2, 1992 | F2 | 20 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 2, 1990 | F2 | 24 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 9 |
| Aug 26, 1986 | F2 | 15 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F2 | 20 mi | 14.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F2 | 24 mi | 11.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 93, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Fort Wayne
The Storm Prediction Center has 189 hail reports within 10 miles of Fort Wayne since 1957, made on 98 separate days. Of these, 95 were 1 inch across or larger, and 6 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on June 15, 1964. The most recent report is from April 2, 2025. June has the most reports, 58.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Fort Wayne
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Fort Wayne International Airport, IN, 9 miles southwest of Fort Wayne at 791 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 18°F. May is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.1 inches; the year adds up to 39.6 inches over 77 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 16 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 124 nights a year. Snowfall averages 33.6 inches a year, most of it in January. That 39.6 inches is more than at 15 of the 115 Indiana stations used on this site (13%). Huntertown, 10 miles north, has its own station (Garrett 1 S, IN): 39.5 inches a year, the same as here, and a July average high of 81°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 18 | 2.5 | 6 | 10.8 |
| Feb | 37 | 21 | 2.1 | 5 | 7.8 |
| Mar | 48 | 29 | 2.8 | 6 | 4.6 |
| Apr | 61 | 39 | 3.7 | 8 | 0.8 |
| May | 72 | 50 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 60 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 64 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 61 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 53 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 64 | 43 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 49 | 33 | 3.0 | 6 | 1.9 |
| Dec | 38 | 24 | 2.5 | 6 | 7.6 |
| Year | 60 | 41 | 39.6 | 77 | 33.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Fort Wayne International Airport, IN (791 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 Wayne
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 279 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Fort Wayne: 262 thunderstorm wind reports, 9 lightning strikes, 3 floods, 3 heavy rain events and 2 flash floods. They killed 3 people and injured 13, and the NWS estimated $6.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 91 mph, on June 29, 2012.
August 10, 2020: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Fort Wayne — 1 killed, 1 injured.
June 5, 2005: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Fort Wayne — 1 killed, $30,000 damage.
NWS: “Widespread damage was reported across Elkhart county ahead of a bow echo that raced east affecting locations south of US 20 and north of US 6. A 50 year old man was outside preparing to place his truck into shelter when the storm struck, blowing part of a barn roof off and onto the gentleman.”
May 1, 2010: lightning strike 6 miles from the centre of Fort Wayne — 1 killed.
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 Fort Wayne's 16 ZIP codes have filed 1,592 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $14.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1982: 796 claims (50% of all) and $4.4 million. 50% 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, 153 have fewer than Fort Wayne.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1982 | 796 | $4.4 million |
Allen County, which includes Fort Wayne, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1978, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 7 severe storms, 4 floods, 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes, on April 15, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Allen County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for hail; Relatively Low for heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $97.3 million a year, the 4th highest of 92 Indiana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $59.7 million (61%), 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 Wayne
- New Haven, IN8 mi
- Huntertown, IN10 mi
- Leo, IN10 mi
- Grabill, IN13 mi
- Roanoke, IN14 mi
- Churubusco, IN14 mi
- Woodburn, IN14 mi
- Ossian, IN15 mi
- Monroeville, IN16 mi
- Spencerville, IN16 mi
- Garrett, IN17 mi
- Harlan, IN17 mi
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