NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database
Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Winona Lake, 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 Winona Lake, Indiana since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 97 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 8 of them rated EF3 or stronger.
- Hurricanes
- 0
- Tropical storms
- 5
- Tornadoes
- 97
- EF3 or stronger
- 8
within 75 mi, since 1851
below hurricane strength
within 25 mi, since 1950
54 deaths in all
What the records show for Winona Lake
None of the 5 tropical systems was at hurricane strength as it passed Winona Lake; the strongest was Ike in 2008, a tropical storm with 58 mph winds when its centre passed 11 miles away. The record near Winona Lake begins with an unnamed storm in 1902; the most recent system was Ike in 2008. Of the 5 systems, one has come since 2000. Winona Lake has more tropical storms and hurricanes within 75 miles than 63% of the 356 Indiana cities on this site. The highest rating among the 97 tornadoes within 25 miles is F4, reached 2 times; the most recent, on April 3, 1974, came within 6 miles. The deadliest, an F4 on April 11, 1965, killed 31 people. Of the 97, 4 had paths within 5 miles of the city centre, and 40 have come since 2000. June has had the most tornadoes, 28. The most recent tornado was on April 2, 2025. Of the 356 Indiana cities, 60% have more tornadoes within 25 miles than Winona Lake. Hail has been reported within 10 miles 62 times since 1962, with stones up to 2.75 inches (baseball size). Of the 356 Indiana cities, 51% have more hail reports within 10 miles than Winona Lake.
Compare Winona Lake's storm record with another city →
Tropical storms and hurricanes near Winona Lake
| Year | Storm | Closest | Strength when closest | Peak |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | IkeSep 14 | 11 mi | Tropical storm (58 mph) | Category 4 |
| 1941 | Unnamed 1941 stormSep 25 | 45 mi | Tropical storm (45 mph) | Category 3 |
| 1932 | Unnamed 1932 stormSep 3 | 23 mi | Tropical storm (44 mph) | Category 1 |
| 1923 | Unnamed 1923 stormOct 19 | 14 mi | Tropical storm (40 mph) | Tropical storm |
| 1902 | Unnamed 1902 stormJun 29 | 48 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 Winona Lake: 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 Winona Lake
By decade
- 2020s7
- 2010s25(1 EF3+)
- 2000s8(1 EF3+)
- 1990s15
- 1980s4
- 1970s9(2 EF3+)
- 1960s18(2 EF3+)
- 1950s11(2 EF3+)
| Date | Rating | Distance | Path | Killed / injured |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 11, 1965 | F4 | 24 mi | 21.2 mi | 31 / 252 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F4 | 6 mi | 108.7 mi | 18 / 285 |
| Apr 3, 1974 | F3 | 23 mi | 36.2 mi | 5 / 53 |
| May 27, 2019 | EF3 | 14 mi | 13.72 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Oct 18, 2007 | EF3 | 16 mi | 20.33 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jul 23, 1961 | F3 | 10 mi | 0.1 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Aug 12, 1956 | F3 | 9 mi | 23.4 mi | 0 / 1 |
| Apr 3, 1956 | F3 | 18 mi | 1.5 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Nov 17, 2013 | EF2 | 10 mi | 4.14 mi | 0 / 0 |
| Jun 14, 2000 | F2 | 12 mi | 7 mi | 0 / 3 |
| Jun 2, 1990 | F2 | 16 mi | 3.5 mi | 0 / 9 |
| Oct 16, 1988 | F2 | 20 mi | 6 mi | 0 / 0 |
The strongest 12 of 97, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.
Hail in Winona Lake
The Storm Prediction Center has 62 hail reports within 10 miles of Winona Lake since 1962, made on 45 separate days. Of these, 22 were 1 inch across or larger, and 3 reached 2 inches. The largest, 2.75 inches (baseball size), fell on June 2, 1980. The most recent report is from July 20, 2023. May has the most reports, 19.
Source: NOAA Storm Prediction Center severe weather reports, data through 2025.
Weather by month in Winona Lake
The nearest NOAA station with 1991–2020 climate normals is Warsaw, IN, 4 miles northwest of Winona Lake at 815 feet. July is the warmest, with an average high of 84°F and low of 62°F; January is the coolest, at 33°F and 17°F. May is the wettest at 4.9 inches of precipitation on average and February the driest at 2.0 inches; the year adds up to 40.6 inches over 79 days with at least a tenth of an inch. Highs reach 90°F on about 12 days a year, almost all from June to September. Lows fall below freezing on about 131 nights a year. That 40.6 inches is more than at 32 of the 115 Indiana stations used on this site (28%). Leesburg, 7 miles north, has its own station (Northern Indiana WFO, IN): 39.9 inches a year, 0.7 less than here, and a July average high of 83°F against 84°F.
| Month | High °F | Low °F | Precip. in | Days ≥ 0.1" |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 33 | 17 | 2.6 | 6 |
| Feb | 37 | 19 | 2.0 | 5 |
| Mar | 48 | 28 | 2.2 | 5 |
| Apr | 61 | 38 | 4.1 | 8 |
| May | 72 | 49 | 4.9 | 8 |
| Jun | 81 | 58 | 4.7 | 8 |
| Jul | 84 | 62 | 4.4 | 7 |
| Aug | 82 | 60 | 4.5 | 7 |
| Sep | 76 | 52 | 2.9 | 6 |
| Oct | 64 | 42 | 3.2 | 7 |
| Nov | 50 | 31 | 2.7 | 7 |
| Dec | 38 | 22 | 2.4 | 6 |
| Year | 60 | 40 | 40.6 | 79 |
Averages for 1991–2020 at Warsaw, IN (815 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 Winona Lake
Since 1996, the National Weather Service has logged 209 flood, rain, thunderstorm wind and lightning events that began within 10 miles of Winona Lake: 189 thunderstorm wind reports, 11 floods, 5 lightning strikes and 4 flash floods. They killed 1 person and injured 6, and the NWS estimated $3.2 million in property and crop damage. The strongest thunderstorm gust on record here was 90 mph, on July 22, 2011.
July 1, 2014: thunderstorm wind in Winona Lake — 1 killed.
NWS: “Emergency management officials reported a large, rotten tree fell onto the bedroom of a mobile home in the Fairlane Mobile Home Park. Two adults and two children were inside the home at the time.”
June 22, 2007: lightning strike 2 miles from the centre of Winona Lake — 4 injured.
NWS: “Four teenagers were camping at a music festival at a local college and sought shelter under a tree, which was struck by lightning. The teeneages were indirectly injured from the strike.”
August 29, 2022: thunderstorm wind 5 miles from the centre of Winona Lake — 2 injured, $20,000 damage.
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 Winona Lake's ZIP code 46590 have filed 11 claims with the National Flood Insurance Program since 1993, and were paid $84,000 for buildings and contents, in the dollars of each year. Of the 155 Indiana cities on this site with 10 or more claims, 6 have fewer than Winona Lake.
Kosciusko County, which includes Winona Lake, has been named in 18 federal disaster or emergency declarations since 1974, 10 of them major disasters (by incident: 6 severe storms, 4 snowstorms, 3 floods, 2 biological emergencies). The latest major disaster declaration was Covid-19 Pandemic, on April 3, 2020. FEMA's National Risk Index gives Kosciusko County a Relatively Low rating for natural hazard risk overall; by hazard: Relatively High for strong wind; Relatively Moderate for tornadoes and lightning; Relatively Low for hail, inland flooding and heat waves; Very Low for hurricanes. It models the county's expected loss from all 18 hazards it covers at $24.8 million a year, the 23rd highest of 92 Indiana counties; of the hazards above, the largest share, $9.9 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.