NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Shoals, 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
2 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Shoals, Indiana since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 92 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 2
- Tornadoes
- 92
- EF3 or stronger
- 6
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
3 deaths in all
What the records show for Shoals
None of the 2 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Shoals; the strongest was Helene in 2024, a tropical storm with 46 mph winds when its centre passed 40 miles away. The record near Shoals begins with an unnamed storm in 1915; the most recent system was Helene in 2024. Of the 356 Indiana cities on this site, 88% have more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than Shoals. The highest rating among the 92 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on June 2, 1990, came within 1 mile. The deadliest, an EF2 on June 25, 2023, killed 1 person. Of the 92, 5 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 55 have come since 2000. April has had the most tornadoes, 21. The most recent tornado was on March 15, 2025. Of the 356 Indiana cities, 71% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Shoals. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 23 times since 1967, with stones up to 3 inches (tea cup size). Of the 356 Indiana cities, 99% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Shoals.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Shoals
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | HeleneSep 28 | 40 mi | Tropical storm (46 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1915 | Unnamed 1915 stormAug 21 | 18 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Category 4 |
Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Shoals: 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 Shoals
By decade
- 2020s13
- 2010s30
- 2000s12(2 EF3+)
- 1990s12(3 EF3+)
- 1980s5
- 1970s7
- 1960s5(1 EF3+)
- 1950s8
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2, 1990 | F4 | 16 mi | 11 mi | 1 / 51 |
| Jun 2, 1990 | F4 | 1 mi | 106 mi | 1 / 12 |
| Mar 8, 2009 | EF3 | 16 mi | 1.06 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Nov 15, 2005 | F3 | 12 mi | 12 mi | 0 / 31 |
| Jun 2, 1990 | F3 | 7 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 24, 1967 | F3 | 13 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Jun 25, 2023 | EF2 | 7 mi | 9.12 mi | 1 / 1 |
| Mar 15, 2025 | EF2 | 6 mi | 57.49 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 1, 2017 | EF2 | 24 mi | 0.68 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Mar 1, 2017 | EF2 | 15 mi | 1.52 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Mar 1, 2017 | EF2 | 20 mi | 0.15 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Feb 28, 2017 | EF2 | 20 mi | 5.8 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 92, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Shoals
The Storm Prediction Center has 23 hail reports within 10 miles of Shoals since 1967, made on 18 separate days. Of these, 20 were 1 inch across or larger, and 4 reached 2 inches. The largest, 3 inches (tea cup size), fell on June 25, 2023. The most recent report is from April 30, 2025. April has the most reports, 7.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Shoals
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Shoals 8 S, IN, 8 miles south of Shoals at 477 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 88°F and low of 66°F; January is the coolest, at 41°F and 23°F. May is the wettest at 6.1 inches of precipitation on average and August the driest at 3.0 inches; the year adds up to 49.9 inches over 81 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 28 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 116 nights a year. Snowfall averages 13.6 inches a year, most of it in February. That 49.9 inches is more than at 104 of the 115 Indiana stations used on this site (90%). Dubois, 13 miles south, has its own station (Dubois S In Forage Fm, IN): 51.7 inches a year, 1.8 more than here, and a July average high of 86°F against 88°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 41 | 23 | 3.7 | 7 | 4.5 |
| Feb | 46 | 25 | 3.1 | 6 | 4.7 |
| Mar | 56 | 33 | 4.5 | 8 | 1.8 |
| Apr | 68 | 43 | 5.2 | 9 | 0.0 |
| May | 77 | 53 | 6.1 | 9 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 85 | 63 | 4.9 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 88 | 66 | 4.3 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 88 | 64 | 3.0 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 82 | 56 | 3.7 | 5 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 70 | 44 | 3.5 | 6 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 56 | 35 | 4.0 | 6 | 0.2 |
| Dec | 45 | 28 | 3.9 | 7 | 2.3 |
| Year | 67 | 44 | 49.9 | 81 | 13.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Shoals 8 S, IN (477 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 Shoals
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 110 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Shoals: 79 thunderstorm wind reports, 17 flash floods and 14 floods. They killed 2 people and injured 3, and the NWS estimated $19.6 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 81 mph, on May 26, 2024. June has had the most flash floods, 5 of 17. Of the 337 Indiana cities on this site with a flash flood on record, 235 have had fewer than Shoals.
March 9, 2026: flood 3 miles from the centre of Shoals — 1 killed, $20,000 damage.
NWS: “The East Fork White River, rising amid moderate flood stage at Shoals, inundated Sprout Springs Road, which swept an elderly man's truck off the road on the 9th, and while the vehicle's passenger was later rescued from a tree vine, search efforts continued for the man through following days.”
March 20, 2008: flood 7 miles from the centre of Shoals — 1 killed, $10,000 damage.
April 2, 2006: thunderstorm wind in Shoals — 1 injured, $300,000 damage.
NWS: “Widespread straight line wind damage occurred throughout Daviess County. One of the damaged strcutures was a home that was still being rebuilt from the 15 November 2005 tornado in the 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
Flood insurance policyholders in Shoals's ZIP code 47581 have filed 13 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1990, and were paid $212,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. 15% 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, 16 have fewer than Shoals.
Martin County, which includes Shoals, has been named in 16 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1979, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 8 severe storms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies, 1 hurricane). The latest major disaster declaration was Severe Storms, Straight-Line Winds, Tornadoes, and Flooding, on July 22, 2025. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Martin County a Very Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively Low for tornadoes and strong wind; Very Low for hurricanes, hail, inland flooding, lightning and heat waves. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $5.2 million a year, the 86th highest of 92 Indiana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $3.2 million (62%), 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 Shoals
- Loogootee, IN7 mi
- Dubois, IN13 mi
- French Lick, IN13 mi
- Montgomery, IN15 mi
- Mitchell, IN16 mi
- Odon, IN17 mi
- Paoli, IN18 mi
- Orleans, IN18 mi
- Jasper, IN20 mi
- Washington, IN22 mi
- Bedford, IN22 mi
- Springville, IN22 mi
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