NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Madison, 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 Madison, Indiana since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was an unnamed storm in 1915. Since 1950, 95 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 16 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 3
- Tornadoes
- 95
- EF3 or stronger
- 16
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
34 deaths in all
What the records show for Madison
None of the 3 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Madison; the strongest was an unnamed storm in 1888, a tropical storm with 52 mph winds when its centre passed 58 miles away. The record near Madison begins with an unnamed storm in 1888; the most recent system was an unnamed storm in 1915, a tropical storm 59 miles away. Of the 356 Indiana cities on this site, 65% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Madison. The strongest of the 95 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F5 on April 3, 1974; its path came within 20 miles, and it killed 6 people. The deadliest, an EF4 on March 2, 2012, killed 11 people. Of the 95, 8 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 41 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 28. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2024. Of the 356 Indiana cities, 64% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Madison. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 39 times since 1974, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 356 Indiana cities, 81% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Madison.
Compare Madison's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Madison
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 59 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1892 | Unnamed 1892 stormSep 13 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (51 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1888 | Unnamed 1888 stormAug 21 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (52 mph) | Category 3 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Madison: 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 Madison
By decade
- 2020s13
- 2010s21(3 EF3+)
- 2000s7(1 EF3+)
- 1990s16(5 EF3+)
- 1980s7
- 1970s15(5 EF3+)
- 1960s10(1 EF3+)
- 1950s6(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | F5 | 20 mi | 68 mi | 6 / 86 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF4 | 10 mi | 46.6 mi | 11 / 0 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 2 mi | 35.6 mi | 11 / 190 |
| Nov 22, 1992 | F4 | 21 mi | 26.7 mi | 1 / 10 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 6 mi | 27.1 mi | 0 / 104 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF3 | 19 mi | 8.69 mi | 3 / 5 |
| Sep 26, 1976 | F3 | 3 mi | 14.6 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Apr 1, 1974 | F3 | 21 mi | 3.3 mi | 1 / 20 |
| Mar 2, 2012 | EF3 | 10 mi | 3.26 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 18, 2007 | EF3 | 20 mi | 4.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 9, 1999 | F3 | 7 mi | 15 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Apr 9, 1999 | F3 | 9 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 95, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Madison
The Storm Prediction Center has 39 hail reports within 10 miles of Madison since 1974, made on 27 separate days. Of these, 30 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest size, 2.75 inches (baseball size), was reported on 2 days, most recently July 20, 2018. The most recent report is from June 18, 2025. March and April have the most reports, 9 each.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Madison
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Madison Sewage Plt, IN, 4 miles south of Madison at 460 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 42°F and 24°F. April is the wettest at 5.5 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 3.2 inches; the year adds up to 51.0 inches over 85 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 24 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 96 nights a year. Snowfall averages 12.3 inches a year, most of it in January. That 51.0 inches is more than at 108 of the 115 Indiana stations used on this site (94%). Carrollton, KY, 14 miles southeast, has its own station (Vevay, IN): 48.4 inches a year, 2.6 less than here, and a July average high of 89°F against 88°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 42 | 24 | 3.5 | 7 | 4.4 |
| Feb | 47 | 25 | 3.2 | 6 | 3.6 |
| Mar | 57 | 33 | 4.5 | 8 | 1.0 |
| Apr | 68 | 43 | 5.5 | 9 | 0.1 |
| May | 77 | 54 | 5.4 | 10 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 84 | 62 | 5.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 88 | 66 | 4.8 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 87 | 65 | 4.2 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 81 | 58 | 3.5 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 46 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 57 | 35 | 3.6 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Dec | 47 | 29 | 4.2 | 7 | 3.0 |
| Year | 67 | 45 | 51.0 | 85 | 12.3 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Madison Sewage Plt, IN (460 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 Madison
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 165 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Madison: 130 thunderstorm wind reports, 24 flash floods and 11 floods. They killed 1 person and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $1.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 101 mph, on March 1, 2017. July has had the most flash floods, 13 of 24. Of the 337 Indiana cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 275 have had fewer than Madison.
September 3, 2022: flash flood 8 miles from the centre of Madison — 1 killed, $200,000 damage.
NWS: “A 64 year old woman was killed when water left the banks of Brushy Fork and swept away her house on Brushy Fork Road. A barn and all the family's belongings were also swept away in the flood waters.”
August 16, 2007: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Madison — 2 injured, $10,000 damage.
July 1, 2012: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Madison — 1 injured, $10,000 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 Madison's ZIP code 47250 have filed 131 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $2.8 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1997: 37 claims (28% of all) and $851,000. 43% 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, 123 have fewer than Madison.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1997 | 37 | $851,000 |
Jefferson County, which includes Madison, has been named in 25 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1968, 20 of them major disasters (by incident: 12 severe storms, 7 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on July 22, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Jefferson County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Low for inland flooding and lightning; Very Low for hurricanes, hail and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $16.1 million a year, the 37th highest of 92 Indiana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $8.3 million (51%), 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.