NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Merrillville, 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 Merrillville, Indiana since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 137 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 137
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
38 deaths in all
What the records show for Merrillville
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Merrillville; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 71 miles away. The record near Merrillville 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 Merrillville. The strongest of the 137 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 21, 1967; its path came within 20 miles, and it killed 33 people. Of the 137, 11 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 79 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 43. The most recent tornado was on March 30, 2025. Merrillville has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 87% of the 356 Indiana cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 128 times since 1976, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Merrillville has more hail reports within 10 miles than 89% of the 356 Indiana cities.
Compare Merrillville's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Merrillville
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 71 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 33 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 43 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 63 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 Merrillville: 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 Merrillville
By decade
- 2020s35
- 2010s29
- 2000s15
- 1990s5
- 1980s9
- 1970s12(3 EF3+)
- 1960s22(6 EF3+)
- 1950s10
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 21, 1967 | F4 | 20 mi | 15 mi | 33 / 500 |
| Mar 12, 1976 | F3 | 22 mi | 38.5 mi | 1 / 15 |
| Mar 12, 1976 | F3 | 24 mi | 12.6 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Jun 20, 1974 | F3 | 12 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Oct 24, 1967 | F3 | 8 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 12, 1965 | F3 | 7 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 14 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F3 | 12 mi | 33.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 30, 1962 | F3 | 21 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 23, 1961 | F3 | 22 mi | 51.7 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Nov 12, 1965 | F2 | 23 mi | 35.9 mi | 2 / 90 |
| Oct 24, 2001 | F2 | 23 mi | 35 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Jul 15, 2024 | EF2 | 21 mi | 34.6 mi | 0 / 2 |
The strongest 12 of 137, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Merrillville
The Storm Prediction Center has 128 hail reports within 10 miles of Merrillville since 1976, made on 73 separate days. Of these, 80 were 1 inch across or larger, and 5 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on June 28, 1993. The most recent report is from May 20, 2024. June has the most reports, 47.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Merrillville
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Valparaiso Wtr Wks, IN, 16 miles east of Merrillville at 800 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 63°F; January is the coolest, at 32°F and 18°F. May is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.2 inches; the year adds up to 40.2 inches over 76 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 9 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 124 nights a year. Snowfall averages 40.0 inches a year, most of it in January. That 40.2 inches is more than at 27 of the 115 Indiana stations used on this site (23%). Crown Point, 5 miles south, has its own station (Lowell, IN): 39.8 inches a year, 0.4 less 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 | 32 | 18 | 2.4 | 6 | 14.6 |
| Feb | 36 | 21 | 2.2 | 4 | 5.5 |
| Mar | 48 | 29 | 2.6 | 6 | 6.7 |
| Apr | 61 | 39 | 3.7 | 7 | 1.2 |
| May | 71 | 49 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 59 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 63 | 4.1 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 62 | 3.6 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 75 | 54 | 2.9 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 64 | 44 | 3.9 | 6 | 0.3 |
| Nov | 49 | 34 | 3.3 | 7 | 2.3 |
| Dec | 37 | 24 | 2.6 | 5 | 9.4 |
| Year | 60 | 41 | 40.2 | 76 | 40.0 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Valparaiso Wtr Wks, IN (800 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 Merrillville
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 310 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Merrillville: 243 thunderstorm wind reports, 31 floods, 20 flash floods, 8 heavy rain events and 8 lightning strikes. They killed 3 people and injured 7, and the NWS estimated $20.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 100 mph, on June 12, 2013. Of the 337 Indiana cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 257 have had fewer than Merrillville.
September 19, 2013: lightning strike 7 miles from the centre of Merrillville — 1 killed, 1 injured, $75,000 damage.
May 15, 2007: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Merrillville — 1 killed, $15,000 damage.
September 19, 2013: lightning strike 6 miles from the centre of Merrillville — 1 killed.
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 Merrillville's ZIP code 46410 have filed 169 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1978, and were paid $1.1 million for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Hurricane Ike in 2008: 29 claims (17% of all) and $476,000, then Flooding in 1981 with 19. 30% 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, 134 have fewer than Merrillville.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Ike2008 | 29 | $476,000 |
| Flooding1981 | 19 | $138,000 |
Lake County, which includes Merrillville, 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.