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NHC HURDAT2 · SPC Tornado Database

Hurricanes and Tornadoes That Hit Depauw, 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 Depauw, Indiana since 1851, 0 of them at hurricane strength; the most recent was Helene in 2024. Since 1950, 98 tornadoes have touched down within 25 miles, 6 of them rated EF3 or stronger.

Hurricanes
0

within 75 mi, since 1851

Tropical storms
3

below hurricane strength

Tornadoes
98

within 25 mi, since 1950

EF3 or stronger
6

53 deaths in all

Tropical storms and hurricanes near Depauw

Tropical systems that passed within 75 miles of Depauw, Indiana, newest first
YearStormClosestStrength when closestPeak
2024HeleneSep 2727 miTropical storm (46 mph)Category 4
1915Unnamed 1915 stormAug 2154 miTropical storm (40 mph)Category 4
1888Unnamed 1888 stormAug 2157 miTropical storm (53 mph)Category 3

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

By decade

  • 2020s19
  • 2010s28(1 EF3+)
  • 2000s15(1 EF3+)
  • 1990s13(1 EF3+)
  • 1980s6
  • 1970s8(2 EF3+)
  • 1960s5(1 EF3+)
  • 1950s4
Strongest tornadoes near Depauw, Indiana
DateRatingDistancePathKilled / injured
Apr 3, 1974F522 mi32 mi31 / 270
Apr 3, 1974F5in town68 mi6 / 86
Mar 2, 2012EF46 mi45.05 mi11 / 0
May 30, 2004F33 mi15 mi1 / 11
Jun 2, 1990F315 mi12 mi0 / 7
Apr 19, 1963F310 mi85.3 mi0 / 0
Mar 1, 2017EF224 mi0.68 mi0 / 1
May 25, 2011EF223 mi4.3 mi0 / 0
May 27, 2004F212 mi25.9 mi0 / 0
May 28, 1996F213 mi10 mi0 / 0
Apr 20, 1996F211 mi1 mi0 / 1
Jun 2, 1990F28 mi11 mi0 / 9

The strongest 12 of 98, 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 Depauw 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