NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Saint John, 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 Saint John, Indiana since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 149 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 149
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
39 deaths in all
What the records show for Saint John
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Saint John; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 73 miles away. The record near Saint John 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 Saint John. The highest rating among the 149 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 21, 1967, came within 20 miles. Of the 149, 11 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 90 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 47. The most recent tornado was on March 30, 2025. Saint John has more tornadoes within 25 miles than 96% of the 356 Indiana cities. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 137 times since 1959, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Saint John has more hail reports within 10 miles than 91% of the 356 Indiana cities.
Compare Saint John's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Saint John
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 73 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 37 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (41 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 68 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 Saint John: 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 Saint John
By decade
- 2020s42
- 2010s31
- 2000s17
- 1990s7
- 1980s9
- 1970s12(2 EF3+)
- 1960s21(6 EF3+)
- 1950s10(1 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 21, 1967 | F4 | 20 mi | 15 mi | 33 / 500 |
| Apr 17, 1963 | F4 | 22 mi | 57.3 mi | 1 / 70 |
| Mar 12, 1976 | F3 | 23 mi | 38.5 mi | 1 / 15 |
| Apr 7, 1954 | F3 | 20 mi | 42.6 mi | 1 / 13 |
| Jun 20, 1974 | F3 | 11 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Oct 24, 1967 | F3 | 15 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 12, 1965 | F3 | 7 mi | 4.1 mi | 0 / 14 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F3 | 16 mi | 33.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 23, 1961 | F3 | 18 mi | 51.7 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Nov 12, 1965 | F2 | 18 mi | 35.9 mi | 2 / 90 |
| Jul 15, 2024 | EF2 | 15 mi | 34.6 mi | 0 / 2 |
| Jun 30, 2014 | EF2 | 12 mi | 3.2 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 149, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Saint John
The Storm Prediction Center has 137 hail reports within 10 miles of Saint John since 1959, made on 80 separate days. Of these, 77 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 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, 53.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Saint John
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Park Forest, IL, 11 miles west of Saint John at 710 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 64°F; January is the coolest, at 31°F and 15°F. June is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.2 inches; the year adds up to 42.2 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 125 nights a year. Snowfall averages 28.2 inches a year, most of it in January. That 42.2 inches is more than at 50 of the 115 Indiana stations used on this site (43%). Cedar Lake, 6 miles south, has its own station (Lowell, IN): 39.8 inches a year, 2.4 less than here, and the same July average high, 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 15 | 2.5 | 6 | 10.2 |
| Feb | 35 | 18 | 2.2 | 5 | 7.5 |
| Mar | 46 | 28 | 2.7 | 6 | 4.9 |
| Apr | 59 | 38 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.5 |
| May | 71 | 49 | 4.6 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 59 | 4.9 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 84 | 64 | 4.7 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 82 | 62 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 55 | 3.4 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 42 | 3.7 | 7 | 0.2 |
| Nov | 48 | 31 | 3.0 | 6 | 0.9 |
| Dec | 36 | 22 | 2.5 | 6 | 4.0 |
| Year | 59 | 40 | 42.2 | 77 | 28.2 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Park Forest, IL (710 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 Saint John
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 322 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Saint John: 239 thunderstorm wind reports, 39 floods, 27 flash floods, 14 heavy rain events and 3 lightning strikes. They killed 2 people and injured 5, and the NWS estimated $26.4 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on May 20, 2012. June has had the most flash floods, 10 of 27. Of the 337 Indiana cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 284 have had fewer than Saint John.
September 19, 2013: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Saint John — 1 killed.
July 15, 2024: thunderstorm wind 6 miles from the centre of Saint John — 1 killed.
August 24, 1998: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Saint John — 2 injured.
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
Lake County, which includes Saint John, 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.