NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Roanoke, 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 Roanoke, Indiana since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 94 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 1 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 5
- Tornadoes
- 94
- EF3 or stronger
- 1
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
2 deaths in all
What the records show for Roanoke
None of the 5 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Roanoke; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 18 miles away. The record near Roanoke begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Of the 5 systems, one has come since 2000. Roanoke has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 63% of the 356 Indiana cities on this site. The strongest of the 94 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F3 on May 16, 1968; its path came within 1 mile, and it killed 1 person. The deadliest, an F1 on March 12, 1976, killed 1 person. Of the 94, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 33 have come since 2000. May and June have had the most tornadoes, 19 each. The most recent tornado was on March 30, 2025. Of the 356 Indiana cities, 66% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Roanoke. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 106 times since 1957, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Roanoke has more hail reports within 10 miles than 85% of the 356 Indiana cities.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Roanoke
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 53 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 44 mi | Tropical storm (39 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 58 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 23 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 Roanoke: 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 Roanoke
By decade
- 2020s3
- 2010s15
- 2000s15
- 1990s15
- 1980s7
- 1970s16
- 1960s13(1 EF3+)
- 1950s10
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 16, 1968 | F3 | 1 mi | 50.3 mi | 1 / 15 |
| Mar 31, 2023 | EF2 | 19 mi | 7.86 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 22, 2016 | EF2 | 12 mi | 2.35 mi | 0 / 0 |
| May 26, 2001 | F2 | 13 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 14, 2000 | F2 | 24 mi | 3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 14, 2000 | F2 | 22 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Oct 8, 1992 | F2 | 13 mi | 2 mi | 0 / 9 |
| Jul 2, 1992 | F2 | 20 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 2, 1990 | F2 | 23 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 9 |
| Aug 26, 1986 | F2 | 18 mi | 5 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 15, 1985 | F2 | 14 mi | 0.3 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F2 | 17 mi | 14.4 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 94, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Roanoke
The Storm Prediction Center has 106 hail reports within 10 miles of Roanoke since 1957, made on 68 separate days. Of these, 58 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on April 3, 1989. The most recent report is from April 2, 2025. June has the most reports, 34.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Roanoke
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Fort Wayne International Airport, IN, 7 miles east of Roanoke at 791 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 18°F. May is the wettest at 4.6 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.1 inches; the year adds up to 39.6 inches over 77 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 16 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 124 nights a year. Snowfall averages 33.6 inches a year, most of it in January. That 39.6 inches is more than at 15 of the 115 Indiana stations used on this site (13%). Markle, 8 miles south, has its own station (Bluffton 6N, IN): 40.1 inches a year, 0.5 more than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 18 | 2.5 | 6 | 10.8 |
| Feb | 37 | 21 | 2.1 | 5 | 7.8 |
| Mar | 48 | 29 | 2.8 | 6 | 4.6 |
| Apr | 61 | 39 | 3.7 | 8 | 0.8 |
| May | 72 | 50 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 81 | 60 | 4.5 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 64 | 4.1 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 61 | 3.8 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 53 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 64 | 43 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 49 | 33 | 3.0 | 6 | 1.9 |
| Dec | 38 | 24 | 2.5 | 6 | 7.6 |
| Year | 60 | 41 | 39.6 | 77 | 33.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Fort Wayne International Airport, IN (791 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 Roanoke
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 191 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Roanoke: 169 thunderstorm wind reports, 13 flash floods, 5 floods, 3 lightning strikes and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 0 people and injured 7, and the NWS estimated $1.1 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 91 mph, on June 29, 2012. July has had the most flash floods, 8 of 13. Of the 337 Indiana cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 194 have had fewer than Roanoke.
June 28, 2006: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Roanoke — 2 injured.
June 10, 2020: thunderstorm wind 9 miles from the centre of Roanoke — 2 injured.
February 5, 2008: flood 3 miles from the centre of Roanoke — 1 injured, $10,000 damage.
NWS: “Local media outlets reported high water affecting portions of US 24 between Roanoke and Huntington, as well as State Road 114, west of US 24, on the Whitley/Huntington county line.”
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 Roanoke's ZIP code 46783 have filed 45 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1980, and were paid $378,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. The year with the most claims was 2015, with 20. 7% 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, 76 have fewer than Roanoke.
Huntington County, which includes Roanoke, has been named in 15 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 9 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 severe storms, 3 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 1 flood). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 3, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Huntington County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and strong wind; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $13.8 million a year, the 45th highest of 92 Indiana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $7.2 million (52%), 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 Roanoke
- Markle, IN8 mi
- Huntington, IN10 mi
- Ossian, IN11 mi
- Fort Wayne, IN14 mi
- Columbia City, IN16 mi
- South Whitley, IN17 mi
- Churubusco, IN19 mi
- Bluffton, IN19 mi
- New Haven, IN20 mi
- Warren, IN20 mi
- Huntertown, IN21 mi
- North Manchester, IN23 mi
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