NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Wanatah, 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 Wanatah, Indiana since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 95 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 9 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 4
- Tornadoes
- 95
- EF3 or stronger
- 9
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
14 deaths in all
What the records show for Wanatah
None of the 4 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Wanatah; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 54 miles away. The record near Wanatah 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 Wanatah. The strongest of the 95 tornadoes within 25 miles was an F4 on April 17, 1963; its path came within 23 miles, and it killed 1 person. The deadliest, an F3 on April 11, 1965, killed 10 people. Of the 95, 6 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 34 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 27. The most recent tornado was on March 30, 2025. Of the 356 Indiana cities, 64% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Wanatah. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 48 times since 1955, with stones up to 2.5 inches (tennis ball size). Of the 356 Indiana cities, 69% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Wanatah.
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Tropical storms and hurricanes near Wanatah
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 54 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 10 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (43 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 41 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 Wanatah: 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 Wanatah
By decade
- 2020s8
- 2010s18
- 2000s8
- 1990s7
- 1980s9
- 1970s15(4 EF3+)
- 1960s20(5 EF3+)
- 1950s10
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 17, 1963 | F4 | 23 mi | 57.3 mi | 1 / 70 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F3 | 16 mi | 35.6 mi | 10 / 82 |
| Mar 12, 1976 | F3 | 14 mi | 38.5 mi | 1 / 15 |
| Mar 12, 1976 | F3 | 15 mi | 12.1 mi | 0 / 4 |
| Mar 12, 1976 | F3 | 16 mi | 12.6 mi | 0 / 7 |
| Jun 20, 1974 | F3 | 24 mi | 4.5 mi | 0 / 5 |
| Oct 24, 1967 | F3 | 20 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 11, 1965 | F3 | in town | 33.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Apr 30, 1962 | F3 | 11 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 24, 2001 | F2 | 1 mi | 35 mi | 1 / 0 |
| Aug 19, 2009 | EF2 | 16 mi | 4 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 11, 1998 | F2 | 25 mi | 9 mi | 0 / 1 |
The strongest 12 of 95, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Wanatah
The Storm Prediction Center has 48 hail reports within 10 miles of Wanatah since 1955, made on 32 separate days. Of these, 31 were 1 inch across or larger, and one reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.5 inches (tennis ball size), fell on April 18, 1955. The most recent report is from June 25, 2023. June has the most reports, 15.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Wanatah
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Wanatah 2 WNW, IN, 3 miles northwest of Wanatah at 735 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 83°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 32°F and 15°F. June is the wettest at 4.7 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 1.9 inches; the year adds up to 39.6 inches over 76 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 17 days a year, almost all from May to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 147 nights a year. Snowfall averages 33.6 inches a year, most of it in January. That 39.6 inches is more than at 16 of the 115 Indiana stations used on this site (14%). Westville, 9 miles north, has its own station (Valparaiso Wtr Wks, IN): 40.2 inches a year, 0.6 more than here, and the same July average high, 83°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" | Snow in |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 32 | 15 | 2.1 | 5 | 10.6 |
| Feb | 35 | 18 | 1.9 | 5 | 8.8 |
| Mar | 47 | 27 | 2.4 | 6 | 5.1 |
| Apr | 59 | 37 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.8 |
| May | 71 | 49 | 4.0 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jun | 80 | 59 | 4.7 | 8 | 0.0 |
| Jul | 83 | 62 | 4.2 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Aug | 81 | 59 | 4.4 | 7 | 0.0 |
| Sep | 76 | 51 | 3.3 | 6 | 0.0 |
| Oct | 63 | 41 | 3.8 | 7 | 0.1 |
| Nov | 49 | 31 | 2.9 | 6 | 1.4 |
| Dec | 37 | 22 | 2.1 | 5 | 6.8 |
| Year | 59 | 39 | 39.6 | 76 | 33.6 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Wanatah 2 WNW, IN (735 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 Wanatah
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 125 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Wanatah: 114 thunderstorm wind reports, 4 floods, 4 lightning strikes, 2 flash floods and 1 heavy rain event. They killed 1 person and injured 4, and the NWS estimated $718,000 in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on May 20, 2024.
March 30, 2025: thunderstorm wind 7 miles from the centre of Wanatah — 1 killed.
July 1, 2011: lightning strike 9 miles from the centre of Wanatah — 2 injured.
August 6, 2000: thunderstorm wind 10 miles from the centre of Wanatah — 1 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
LaPorte County, which includes Wanatah, has been named in 19 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1965, 12 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 severe storms, 5 floods, 3 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 LaPorte County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for tornadoes; Relatively Moderate for hail, inland flooding, strong wind and lightning; Relatively Low for heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes and coastal flooding. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $37.6 million a year, the 15th highest of 92 Indiana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $15.0 million (40%), 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 Wanatah
- Westville, IN9 mi
- Kouts, IN11 mi
- Valparaiso, IN11 mi
- La Porte, IN15 mi
- North Judson, IN15 mi
- Chesterton, IN16 mi
- Knox, IN17 mi
- Hebron, IN18 mi
- Wheatfield, IN18 mi
- Portage, IN19 mi
- Michigan City, IN20 mi
- Walkerton, IN20 mi
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