NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Mishawaka, 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 Mishawaka, Indiana since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 118 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 10 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 118
- EF3 or stronger
- 10
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
84 deaths in all
What the records show for Mishawaka
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Mishawaka; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 46 miles away. The record near Mishawaka 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 Mishawaka. The highest rating among the 118 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 3 times; the most recent, on April 11, 1965, came within 11 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 11, 1965, killed 36 people. Of the 118, 16 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 43 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 36. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2025. Mishawaka has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 68% of the 356 Indiana cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 167 times since 1955, with stones up to 3.5 inches. Mishawaka has more hail reports within 10 miles than 94% of the 356 Indiana cities.
Compare Mishawaka's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Mishawaka
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 46 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 12 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 18 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 Mishawaka: 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 Mishawaka
By decade
- 2020s9
- 2010s23
- 2000s11(2 EF3+)
- 1990s15
- 1980s10
- 1970s12(1 EF3+)
- 1960s24(7 EF3+)
- 1950s14
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 5 mi | 37 mi | 36 / 321 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 11 mi | 21.2 mi | 31 / 252 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 24 mi | 21.6 mi | 5 / 41 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F3 | 7 mi | 35.6 mi | 10 / 82 |
| Oct 24, 2001 | F3 | 6 mi | 47 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Oct 18, 2007 | EF3 | 18 mi | 20.33 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 12, 1976 | F3 | 24 mi | 12.1 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Nov 26, 1965 | F3 | 18 mi | 1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F3 | 24 mi | 33.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 30, 1962 | F3 | 4 mi | 36.5 mi | 0 / 49 |
| Oct 24, 2001 | F2 | 16 mi | 35 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Jun 5, 2010 | EF2 | 21 mi | 2.73 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 118, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Mishawaka
The Storm Prediction Center has 167 hail reports within 10 miles of Mishawaka since 1955, made on 90 separate days. Of these, 102 were 1 inch across or larger, and 7 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3.5 inches, fell on April 17, 1963. The most recent report is from June 25, 2024. June has the most reports, 47.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Mishawaka
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is South Bend Michiana Regional Airport, IN, 8 miles west of Mishawaka at 773 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 17°F. May is the wettest at 4.2 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.3 inches; the year adds up to 39.3 inches over 80 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 14 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 126 nights a year. Snowfall averages 64.5 inches a year, most of it in January. That 39.3 inches is more than at 12 of the 115 Indiana stations used on this site (10%). Granger, 5 miles north, has its own station (Niles, MI): 41.5 inches a year, 2.2 more than here, and the same July average high, 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 17 | 2.7 | 7 | 21.6 |
| Feb | 35 | 19 | 2.3 | 6 | 16.1 |
| Mar | 46 | 27 | 2.4 | 6 | 6.8 |
| Apr | 59 | 37 | 3.5 | 7 | 1.0 |
| May | 70 | 48 | 4.2 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 79 | 58 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 62 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 61 | 4.0 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 74 | 53 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 62 | 42 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 48 | 32 | 2.8 | 6 | 5.1 |
| Dec | 36 | 23 | 2.4 | 6 | 13.7 |
| Year | 59 | 40 | 39.3 | 80 | 64.5 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at South Bend Michiana Regional Airport, IN (773 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 Mishawaka
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 357 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Mishawaka: 330 thunderstorm wind reports, 12 floods, 7 lightning strikes, 6 flash floods and 2 heavy rain events. They killed 1 person and injured 6, and the NWS estimated $6.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 93 mph, on May 18, 1997. Of the 337 Indiana cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 103 have had fewer than Mishawaka.
September 10, 2016: flood 5 miles from the centre of Mishawaka — 1 killed.
June 23, 2010: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Mishawaka — 2 injured.
July 21, 1998: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Mishawaka — 1 injured, $500,000 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 Mishawaka's 2 ZIP codes have filed 61 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1979, and were paid $468,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The most came from Flooding in 1982: 15 claims (25% of all) and $28,000. 28% 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, 92 have fewer than Mishawaka.
| Event | Claims | Paid |
|---|---|---|
| Flooding1982 | 15 | $28,000 |
St. Joseph County, which includes Mishawaka, has been named in 17 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 severe storms, 4 snowstorms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 3, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives St. Joseph County a Relatively Moderate rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes, hail and strong wind; Relatively Moderate for inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $60.2 million a year, the 7th highest of 92 Indiana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $27.5 million (46%), 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.