NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Lebanon, 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 Lebanon, Indiana since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 144 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 12 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 5
- Tornadoes
- 144
- EF3 or stronger
- 12
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
61 deaths in all
What the records show for Lebanon
None of the 5 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Lebanon; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 36 miles away. The record near Lebanon begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Of the 5 systems, one has come since 2000. Lebanon has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 63% of the 356 Indiana cities on this site. The highest rating among the 144 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 11, 1965, came within 24 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 11, 1965, killed 28 people. Of the 144, 11 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 48 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 32. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2025. Lebanon has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 92% of the 356 Indiana cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 91 times since 1955, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Lebanon has more hail reports within 10 miles than 76% of the 356 Indiana cities.
Compare Lebanon's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Lebanon
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 36 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 57 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 63 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 12 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 Lebanon: 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 Lebanon
By decade
- 2020s6
- 2010s26
- 2000s16
- 1990s18(2 EF3+)
- 1980s18(1 EF3+)
- 1970s25(2 EF3+)
- 1960s24(6 EF3+)
- 1950s11(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 3 mi | 45.7 mi | 28 / 123 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 25 mi | 48 mi | 25 / 835 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 24 mi | 21.8 mi | 0 / 44 |
| Apr 9, 1953 | F3 | 15 mi | 156.7 mi | 3 / 22 |
| Jun 2, 1980 | F3 | 20 mi | 18.1 mi | 1 / 16 |
| Nov 22, 1992 | F3 | 22 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 22, 1992 | F3 | 24 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 25, 1978 | F3 | 23 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 25, 1978 | F3 | 10 mi | 27.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Aug 9, 1969 | F3 | 20 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 6 |
| Nov 26, 1965 | F3 | 9 mi | 14.7 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Mar 11, 1962 | F3 | 2 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 144, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Lebanon
The Storm Prediction Center has 91 hail reports within 10 miles of Lebanon since 1955, made on 60 separate days. Of these, 56 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on July 27, 1974. The most recent report is from March 19, 2025. May has the most reports, 29.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Lebanon
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Whitestown, IN, 7 miles southeast of Lebanon at 941 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 20°F. June is the wettest at 4.7 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.5 inches; the year adds up to 41.5 inches over 76 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 114 nights a year. Snowfall averages 22.0 inches a year, most of it in January. That 41.5 inches is more than at 44 of the 115 Indiana stations used on this site (38%). Thorntown, 9 miles northwest, has its own station (Frankfort Disposal, IN): 43.4 inches a year, 1.9 more than here, and a July average high of 84°F against 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 20 | 2.9 | 6 | 7.2 |
| Feb | 39 | 23 | 2.5 | 5 | 6.8 |
| Mar | 50 | 32 | 3.2 | 6 | 2.4 |
| Apr | 63 | 42 | 4.3 | 8 | 0.2 |
| May | 73 | 53 | 4.6 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 61 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 64 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 62 | 2.9 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 77 | 55 | 3.3 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 65 | 44 | 3.0 | 5 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 50 | 34 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.6 |
| Dec | 38 | 25 | 2.9 | 6 | 4.7 |
| Year | 61 | 43 | 41.5 | 76 | 22.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Whitestown, IN (941 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 Lebanon
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 134 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Lebanon: 109 thunderstorm wind reports, 15 floods, 9 flash floods and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 1 person and injured 1, and the NWS estimated $1.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on June 6, 2008. June has had the most flash floods, 5 of 9. Of the 337 Indiana cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 139 have had fewer than Lebanon.
May 25, 2022: thunderstorm wind 3 miles from the centre of Lebanon — 1 killed, $50,000 damage.
NWS: “Thunderstorm winds at 904 Edwards Drive pushed over a boom lift that was 125 feet high. An adult male in the boom at the time of the strong winds was killed.”
July 19, 1998: thunderstorm wind in Lebanon — 1 injured, $10,000 damage.
NWS: “Tree blown down on house trapped man underneath, seriously injuring him.”
April 19, 2011: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Lebanon — $300,000 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Lebanon's ZIP code 46052 have filed 74 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $330,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2013, with 39. 3% 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, 101 have fewer than Lebanon.
Boone County, which includes Lebanon, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 11 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 severe storms, 3 floods, 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 3, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Boone County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for hail and strong wind; Relatively Low for tornadoes, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $25.5 million a year, the 22nd highest of 92 Indiana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $15.2 million (60%), 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.