NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Highland, 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
3 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Highland, Indiana since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1941. Since 1950, 140 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 140
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
36 deaths in all
What the records show for Highland
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Highland; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1941, a tropical storm with 44 mph winds when its centre passed 40 miles away. The record near Highland begins with an unnamed storm in 1923; the most recent system was an unnamed storm in 1941. Of the 356 Indiana cities on this site, 65% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Highland. The strongest of the 140 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 21, 1967; its path came within 13 miles, and it killed 33 people. Of the 140, 13 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 85 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 42. The most recent tornado was on March 19, 2025. Highland has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 89% of the 356 Indiana cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 116 times since 1956, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Highland has more hail reports within 10 miles than 86% of the 356 Indiana cities.
Compare Highland's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Highland
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 50 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Highland: 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 Highland
By decade
- 2020s42(1 EF3+)
- 2010s28
- 2000s15
- 1990s5(1 EF3+)
- 1980s10
- 1970s12(1 EF3+)
- 1960s18(5 EF3+)
- 1950s10
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 21, 1967 | F4 | 13 mi | 15 mi | 33 / 500 |
| Jun 20, 2021 | EF3 | 25 mi | 17.6 mi | 0 / 11 |
| Mar 27, 1991 | F3 | 23 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Jun 20, 1974 | F3 | 17 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Oct 24, 1967 | F3 | 12 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 12, 1965 | F3 | in town | 4.1 mi | 0 / 14 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F3 | 19 mi | 33.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 23, 1961 | F3 | 24 mi | 51.7 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Nov 12, 1965 | F2 | 17 mi | 35.9 mi | 2 / 90 |
| Jul 15, 2024 | EF2 | 15 mi | 34.6 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 30, 2014 | EF2 | 19 mi | 3.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 30, 2014 | EF2 | 20 mi | 3.9 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 140, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Highland
The Storm Prediction Center has 116 hail reports within 10 miles of Highland since 1956, made on 69 separate days. Of these, 69 were 1 inch across or larger, and 8 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on June 28, 1993. The most recent report is from February 27, 2024. June has the most reports, 43.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Highland
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Park Forest, IL, 12 miles west of Highland at 710 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 15°F. June is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.2 inches; the year adds up to 42.2 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 125 nights a year. Snowfall averages 28.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 42.2 inches is more than at 50 of the 115 Indiana stations used on this site (43%). Gary, 6 miles east, has its own station (Indiana Dunes Nl, IN): 39.4 inches a year, 2.8 less than here, and a July average high of 82°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 15 | 2.5 | 6 | 10.2 |
| Feb | 35 | 18 | 2.2 | 5 | 7.5 |
| Mar | 46 | 28 | 2.7 | 6 | 4.9 |
| Apr | 59 | 38 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.5 |
| May | 71 | 49 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 59 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 64 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 62 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 55 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 42 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 48 | 31 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.9 |
| Dec | 36 | 22 | 2.5 | 6 | 4.0 |
| Year | 59 | 40 | 42.2 | 77 | 28.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Park Forest, IL (710 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 Highland
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 343 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Highland: 257 thunderstorm wind reports, 43 floods, 28 flash floods, 10 heavy rain events and 5 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 8, and the NWS estimated $321.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 98 mph, on August 15, 2007. Of the 337 Indiana cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 291 have had fewer than Highland.
September 19, 2013: lightning strike 7 miles from the centre of Highland — 1 killed, 1 injured, $75,000 damage.
September 19, 2013: lightning strike 4 miles from the centre of Highland — 1 killed.
August 24, 1998: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Highland — 2 injured.
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 Highland's ZIP code 46322 have filed 819 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $9.6 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1990: 147 claims (18% of all) and $2.1 million, then Hurricane Ike in 2008 with 28. The year with the most claims was 2006, with 418. 21% 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, 152 have fewer than Highland.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1990 | 147 | $2.1 million |
| Hurricane Ike2008 | 28 | $339,000 |
Lake County, which includes Highland, has been named in 24 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1977, 16 of them major disasters (by incident: 11 severe storms, 5 floods, 4 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on August 25, 2026. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Lake County a Relatively High rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Very High for tornadoes; Relatively High for inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Moderate for heat waves; Relatively Low for hail; Very Low for hurricanes and coastal flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $191.0 million a year, the 2nd highest of 92 Indiana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $89.8 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.