NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Shipshewana, 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 Shipshewana, Indiana since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 85 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 11 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 5
- Tornadoes
- 85
- EF3 or stronger
- 11
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
129 deaths in all
What the records show for Shipshewana
None of the 5 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Shipshewana; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 31 miles away. The record near Shipshewana begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Of the 5 systems, one has come since 2000. Shipshewana has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 63% of the 356 Indiana cities on this site. The highest rating among the 85 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 5 times; the most recent, on April 3, 1974, came within 11 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 11, 1965, killed 36 people. Of the 85, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 31 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 19. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2025. Of the 356 Indiana cities, 81% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Shipshewana. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 36 times since 1990, with stones up to 4.25 inches. Of the 356 Indiana cities, 88% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Shipshewana.
Compare Shipshewana's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Shipshewana
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 31 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 38 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 6 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 5 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 75 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 Shipshewana: 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 Shipshewana
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s13
- 2000s10(2 EF3+)
- 1990s7
- 1980s4
- 1970s12(2 EF3+)
- 1960s20(7 EF3+)
- 1950s11
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 2 mi | 37 mi | 36 / 321 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 7 mi | 21.2 mi | 31 / 252 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 22 mi | 90.3 mi | 23 / 294 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 11 mi | 108.7 mi | 18 / 285 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 3 mi | 21.6 mi | 5 / 41 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F3 | 20 mi | 35.6 mi | 10 / 82 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 19 mi | 36.2 mi | 5 / 53 |
| Oct 24, 2001 | F3 | 23 mi | 47 mi | 1 / 2 |
| Oct 18, 2007 | EF3 | 21 mi | 20.33 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 30, 1962 | F3 | 13 mi | 36.5 mi | 0 / 49 |
| May 6, 1961 | F3 | 14 mi | 33.4 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Aug 6, 2024 | EF2 | 19 mi | 8.46 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 85, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Shipshewana
The Storm Prediction Center has 36 hail reports within 10 miles of Shipshewana since 1990, made on 23 separate days. Of these, 22 were 1 inch across or larger, and 2 reached 2 inches. The largest, 4.25 inches, fell on May 6, 2004. The most recent report is from March 30, 2025. March has the most reports, 10.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Shipshewana
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Lagrange, IN, 10 miles east of Shipshewana at 900 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 4.3 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.9 inches; the year adds up to 38.5 inches over 73 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 11 days a year, almost all from June to August. Lows fall below freezing on about 140 nights a year. That 38.5 inches is more than at 5 of the 115 Indiana stations used on this site (4%). Middlebury, 6 miles west, has its own station (Goshen Municipal Airport, IN): 34.7 inches a year, 3.8 less than here, and the same July average high, 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 31 | 17 | 2.7 | 6 |
| Feb | 34 | 18 | 1.9 | 4 |
| Mar | 45 | 27 | 2.5 | 5 |
| Apr | 59 | 38 | 3.6 | 7 |
| May | 70 | 49 | 4.3 | 8 |
| Jun | 80 | 58 | 4.1 | 7 |
| Jul | 83 | 62 | 3.4 | 7 |
| Aug | 81 | 60 | 4.2 | 6 |
| Sep | 75 | 53 | 3.1 | 6 |
| Oct | 62 | 43 | 3.4 | 6 |
| Nov | 48 | 31 | 3.0 | 6 |
| Dec | 36 | 23 | 2.3 | 6 |
| Year | 59 | 40 | 38.5 | 73 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Lagrange, IN (900 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 Shipshewana
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 110 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Shipshewana: 105 thunderstorm wind reports, 3 lightning strikes and 2 floods. They killed 0 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $511,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on March 30, 2025.
August 7, 2018: lightning strike 5 miles from the centre of Shipshewana — 2 injured.
June 11, 2026: thunderstorm wind 4 miles from the centre of Shipshewana — 1 injured, $10,000 damage.
NWS: “Public reports that a large limb fell onto a camper and injured the person inside.”
February 6, 2008: flood 4 miles from the centre of Shipshewana — $100,000 damage.
NWS: “Several secondary roads had water on them, with some spots haveing washouts in poor drainage area.”
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
LaGrange County, which includes Shipshewana, has been named in 12 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 4 of them major disasters (by incident: 5 snowstorms, 2 biological emergencies, 2 tornadoes, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 3, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives LaGrange County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes, hail and lightning; Relatively Low for inland flooding; Very Low for hurricanes and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $12.6 million a year, the 54th highest of 92 Indiana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $6.1 million (48%), 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.