Skip to content

NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Carmel, IN

Every tropical system within 75 miles since 1851 and every tornado within 25 miles since 1950.

3 tropical systems have passed within 75 miles of Carmel, Indiana since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Ike in 2008. Since 1950, 138 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 12 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
3

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
138

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
12

34 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Carmel

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Carmel, Indiana, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2008IkeSep 1451 miTropical storm (58 mph)Category 4
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 2130 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 4
1902Unnamed 1902 stormJun 2924 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 1

Strength is the sustained wind on the track at the closest point, which is not the wind felt in Carmel: 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 Carmel

By decade

  • 2020s3
  • 2010s18
  • 2000s19(1 EF3+)
  • 1990s20(2 EF3+)
  • 1980s18
  • 1970s29(2 EF3+)
  • 1960s17(6 EF3+)
  • 1950s14(1 EF3+)
Strongest tornadoes near Carmel, Indiana
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Apr 11, 1965F412 mi45.7 mi28 / 123
Jun 11, 1998F416 mi13.2 mi0 / 4
May 14, 1972F413 mi30 mi0 / 20
Apr 9, 1953F321 mi156.7 mi3 / 22
Sep 20, 2002F311 mi112 mi0 / 127
Nov 22, 1992F36 mi9 mi0 / 0
Jun 25, 1978F317 mi1 mi0 / 0
Aug 9, 1969F312 mi0.1 mi0 / 6
Nov 26, 1965F36 mi14.7 mi0 / 5
Nov 26, 1965F316 mi1 mi0 / 3
Apr 22, 1963F310 mi0.3 mi0 / 20
Mar 11, 1962F320 mi3 mi0 / 0

The strongest 12 of 138, by rating and then by deaths. Ratings before February 2007 are on the original Fujita scale.

How to read this page

A storm is listed when the centre of its track passed within 75 miles of Carmel while it was at least a tropical storm, which is the reach of damaging wind and rain for a typical hurricane. Being on the list does not mean the city took a direct hit; the "closest" column says how near the centre came. Tornadoes are counted when any part of the path came within 25 miles.

Tornado records before the 1990s are thinner, because weak tornadoes in open country often went unreported before Doppler radar and mobile phones. A rise in the decade counts is mostly better reporting, not a change in the weather.

Tracks come from the National Hurricane Center's HURDAT2 database, tornadoes from the Storm Prediction Center's database. Both are the official federal records and both are revised as old storms are re-analysed.

Other cities in Indiana