NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit La Porte, 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 La Porte, Indiana since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 84 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 7 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 84
- EF3 or stronger
- 7
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
13 deaths in all
What the records show for La Porte
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed La Porte; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 59 miles away. The record near La Porte 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 La Porte. The highest rating among the 84 tornadoes within 25 miles is F3, reached 7 times; the most recent, on October 24, 2001, came within 15 miles. The deadliest, an F3 on April 11, 1965, killed 10 people. Of the 84, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 25 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 19. The most recent tornado was on March 30, 2025. Of the 356 Indiana cities, 83% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than La Porte. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 43 times since 1955, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 356 Indiana cities, 77% have more hail reports within 10 miles than La Porte.
Compare La Porte's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near La Porte
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 9 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 28 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 40 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 La Porte: 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 La Porte
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s12
- 2000s7(1 EF3+)
- 1990s6
- 1980s11
- 1970s15(2 EF3+)
- 1960s18(4 EF3+)
- 1950s9
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | F3 | 19 mi | 35.6 mi | 10 / 82 |
| Oct 24, 2001 | F3 | 15 mi | 47 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Mar 12, 1976 | F3 | 19 mi | 12.1 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Mar 12, 1976 | F3 | 1 mi | 12.6 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Nov 26, 1965 | F3 | 13 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F3 | 9 mi | 33.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 30, 1962 | F3 | 11 mi | 36.5 mi | 0 / 49 |
| Oct 24, 2001 | F2 | 4 mi | 35 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Aug 19, 2009 | EF2 | 17 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 28, 1980 | F2 | 25 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 12, 1979 | F2 | 24 mi | 3.3 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Jun 30, 1977 | F2 | 22 mi | 6.8 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 84, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in La Porte
The Storm Prediction Center has 43 hail reports within 10 miles of La Porte since 1955, made on 33 separate days. Of these, 26 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on March 27, 1991. The most recent report is from May 24, 2024. May and July have the most reports, 9 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in La Porte
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Laporte, IN, in La Porte at 809 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 82°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 17°F. June is the wettest at 4.4 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.5 inches; the year adds up to 42.5 inches over 87 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 10 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 119 nights a year. Snowfall averages 65.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 42.5 inches is more than at 54 of the 115 Indiana stations used on this site (47%). Westville, 11 miles west, has its own station (Valparaiso Wtr Wks, IN): 40.2 inches a year, 2.3 less than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 82°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 17 | 3.0 | 8 | 23.0 |
| Feb | 35 | 20 | 2.5 | 6 | 16.0 |
| Mar | 46 | 29 | 2.7 | 7 | 7.1 |
| Apr | 59 | 39 | 3.8 | 8 | 1.1 |
| May | 70 | 50 | 4.3 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 79 | 60 | 4.4 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 82 | 64 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 80 | 63 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 55 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 62 | 44 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 48 | 33 | 3.2 | 7 | 4.0 |
| Dec | 36 | 24 | 2.9 | 7 | 13.8 |
| Year | 59 | 41 | 42.5 | 87 | 65.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Laporte, IN (809 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 La Porte
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 143 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of La Porte: 138 thunderstorm wind reports, 2 lightning strikes, 1 flash flood, 1 flood and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $1.7 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on June 23, 2010.
August 4, 2008: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of La Porte — 1 killed, $25,000 damage.
August 16, 2009: lightning strike 2 miles from the centre of La Porte — 1 injured.
NWS: “Local newspapers reported a 64 year old man was thrown across his garage when a lightning bolt struck about four feet from where he was standing. He lost consciousness for around five minutes, but awakened and was treated at a local hospital.”
June 23, 2010: thunderstorm wind 2 miles from the centre of La Porte — $750,000 damage.
NWS: “A survey of rather extensive damage was performed across the county. An intense microburst with a path of 2 to 3 miles and estimated 100 mph winds was surveyed from Pine Lake northeast through Rolling Prairie.”
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 La Porte's ZIP code 46350 have filed 47 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1982, and were paid $316,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 1993, with 12. 9% 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, 77 have fewer than La Porte.
LaPorte County, which includes La Porte, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 severe storms, 5 floods, 3 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 LaPorte County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes; Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and coastal flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $37.6 million a year, the 15th highest of 92 Indiana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $15.0 million (40%), 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 La Porte
- Rolling Prairie, IN8 mi
- Westville, IN11 mi
- Michigan City, IN11 mi
- New Buffalo, MI12 mi
- New Carlisle, IN13 mi
- Walkerton, IN15 mi
- Wanatah, IN15 mi
- Three Oaks, MI16 mi
- North Liberty, IN16 mi
- Chesterton, IN18 mi
- Valparaiso, IN20 mi
- Sawyer, MI21 mi
All Indiana cities →All hurricanes since 1851 →Compare La Porte with another place →