NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Franklin, 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
2 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Franklin, Indiana since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1915. Since 1950, 128 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 15 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 2
- Tornadoes
- 128
- EF3 or stronger
- 15
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
5 deaths in all
What the records show for Franklin
None of the 2 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Franklin; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1915, a tropical storm with 40 mph winds when its centre crossed the city. The record near Franklin begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was an unnamed storm in 1915. Of the 356 Indiana cities on this site, 88% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Franklin. The highest rating among the 128 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on June 11, 1998, came within 21 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on October 11, 1954, killed 2 people. Of the 128, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 41 have come since 2000. May has had the most tornadoes, 29. The most recent tornado was on May 16, 2025. Franklin has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 79% of the 356 Indiana cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 67 times since 1973, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Franklin has more hail reports within 10 miles than 55% of the 356 Indiana cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Franklin
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | overhead | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 56 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 Franklin: 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 Franklin
By decade
- 2020s16(1 EF3+)
- 2010s12
- 2000s13(3 EF3+)
- 1990s16(4 EF3+)
- 1980s13(1 EF3+)
- 1970s24(3 EF3+)
- 1960s16(1 EF3+)
- 1950s18(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 11, 1998 | F4 | 21 mi | 13.2 mi | 0 / 4 |
| May 14, 1972 | F4 | 20 mi | 30 mi | 0 / 20 |
| Apr 25, 1961 | F4 | 15 mi | 63.1 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Oct 11, 1954 | F3 | in town | 4.7 mi | 2 / 0 |
| Jun 3, 2008 | EF3 | 20 mi | 9.68 mi | 1 / 8 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 12 mi | 20.7 mi | 1 / 25 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF3 | 5 mi | 5.48 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 15, 2005 | F3 | 17 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Sep 20, 2002 | F3 | 13 mi | 112 mi | 0 / 127 |
| Nov 22, 1992 | F3 | 10 mi | 10 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 22, 1992 | F3 | 16 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 30, 1992 | F3 | 8 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 25 |
The strongest 12 of 128, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Franklin
The Storm Prediction Center has 67 hail reports within 10 miles of Franklin since 1973, made on 44 separate days. Of these, 40 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently May 25, 2011. The most recent report is from May 16, 2025. May has the most reports, 21.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Franklin
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Franklin Wwtp, IN, 1 mile southeast of Franklin at 720 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 35°F and 18°F. May is the wettest at 5.3 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.5 inches; the year adds up to 45.4 inches over 80 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 117 nights a year. Snowfall averages 16.9 inches a year, most of it in January. That 45.4 inches is more than at 68 of the 115 Indiana stations used on this site (59%). Greenwood, 10 miles northwest, has its own station (Indianapolis SE Side, IN): 44.6 inches a year, 0.8 less than here, and the same July average high, 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 35 | 18 | 3.0 | 6 | 6.3 |
| Feb | 40 | 20 | 2.5 | 6 | 4.2 |
| Mar | 51 | 29 | 3.7 | 7 | 2.2 |
| Apr | 63 | 40 | 4.9 | 9 | 0.1 |
| May | 73 | 51 | 5.3 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 61 | 5.1 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 64 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 83 | 61 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 78 | 54 | 3.2 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 66 | 41 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 52 | 31 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.2 |
| Dec | 40 | 23 | 3.4 | 7 | 3.8 |
| Year | 62 | 41 | 45.4 | 80 | 16.9 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Franklin Wwtp, IN (720 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 Franklin
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 171 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Franklin: 132 thunderstorm wind reports, 22 floods, 10 flash floods, 5 lightning strikes and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 3 people and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $3.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on May 21, 2022. June has had the most flash floods, 4 of 10. Of the 337 Indiana cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 155 have had fewer than Franklin.
June 26, 2008: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Franklin — 3 killed, 2 injured, $10,000 damage.
October 23, 2020: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Franklin — 2 injured.
August 23, 2002: thunderstorm wind in Franklin — 1 injured, $20,000 damage.
NWS: “Part of a ceiling of a Wal-Mart department store collapsed. One person had minor injuries.”
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 Franklin's ZIP code 46131 have filed 219 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $7.2 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Storm in 2008: 133 claims (61% of all) and $6.3 million. 64% 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, 139 have fewer than Franklin.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Storm2008 | 133 | $6.3 million |
Johnson County, which includes Franklin, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1991, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 severe storms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 floods, 2 snowstorms). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, and Tornadoes, on April 15, 2023. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Johnson County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, 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 $53.5 million a year, the 10th highest of 92 Indiana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $29.8 million (56%), 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 Franklin
- Whiteland, IN6 mi
- Bargersville, IN8 mi
- Trafalgar, IN8 mi
- Edinburgh, IN9 mi
- Greenwood, IN10 mi
- Nineveh, IN11 mi
- Fairland, IN13 mi
- Morgantown, IN15 mi
- Shelbyville, IN15 mi
- Beech Grove, IN17 mi
- Camby, IN17 mi
- Fountaintown, IN18 mi
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