173
Recorded events
1
Direct deaths
5
Direct injuries
$8.9M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in Gibson County, Indiana: 173 recorded events between 1958 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 96. That places the county #1,284 nationally and #40 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in Gibson County, Indiana: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in Gibson County is the 2010s, when 45 of the county's 173 recorded events were logged. Comparing decades is useful for spotting active periods, but the earliest years are thin because systematic reporting for this hazard began later.
Within the Gibson County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 29.4% of all recorded severe weather across 9 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #1,284 for this hazard and #40 within Indiana, putting it in the 59.3 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
May is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in Gibson County with 40 recorded events, while Feb is the quietest. Seasonality here is a property of the archive as much as the climate: reports cluster where population and spotter networks are densest.
Significant events
Deadliest on record
| Date | Location | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 30, 2015 | BUCKSKIN | 50 | 1 | 1 | $2K |
| Jun 13, 1998 | PRINCETON | 0 | 0 | 2 | $500K |
| Jul 31, 2012 | OAKLAND CITY | 96 | 0 | 1 | $6.0M |
| Oct 24, 2001 | EAST MT CARMEL | 63 | 0 | 1 | $50K |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 19, 2025 | OAKLAND CITY | 74 | $2K |
| Oct 19, 2025 | PRINCETON | 54 | $2K |
| Oct 19, 2025 | HAUBSTADT | 74 | $2K |
| Aug 13, 2025 | HAZLETON | 70 | $1K |
| Jul 29, 2025 | OAKLAND CITY | 91 | $70K |
| Jul 29, 2025 | OAKLAND CITY | 74 | $10K |
| Jul 12, 2025 | BALDWIN HGTS | 50 | $0 |
| Aug 1, 2024 | BALDWIN HGTS | 52 | $1K |
| Jul 30, 2024 | KING | 52 | $15K |
| Jul 30, 2024 | PATOKA | 65 | $40K |
Other hazards here
More from Gibson County
- Flood 229
- Hail 96
- Flash Flood 40
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
A small child was killed when a tree limb landed on her. The incident occurred at an outdoor family reunion. The tree limb fell about 50 feet, striking a father and his daughter. The father was hospitalized with a broken neck and other injuries. The young girl died in the hospital a couple of days later. There were a couple of other downed tree limbs in the immediate area.
A very destructive macroburst with winds estimated up to 110 mph snapped or uprooted thousands of trees. Hundreds of structures were damaged. A total of 78 structures received major damage such as loss of roof decking or porches, and 249 sustained minor damage such as loss of shingles or minor siding loss. Dozens of barns and sheds were heavily damaged or destroyed. The macroburst damage was concentrated in Oakland City. The damage area extended south to the Warrick County line. In Oakland City, a tree was down on a trailer with residents still inside. The damage path was 3.5 miles wide and 12 miles long. One person was injured due to wind, and three people were injured by hail. All of the injuries occurred in Oakland City, and all were treated at hospitals. Roads were blocked by debris, including State Route 57. Two miles south of Oakland City, part of a roof was on a roadway.
Very damaging thunderstorm winds in excess of 70 MPH affected a narrow swath of Gibson County from near Princeton to Oakland City. Two trailers were destroyed, numerous trees were downed, and 40 to 50 homes were damaged. About 90 percent of the town of Princeton was without power. Midnight curfews were enacted in Oakland City and Patoka. Indiana Route 64 was closed due to debris on the roadway. Grain bins were blown over near Princeton. Most of the house damage was a result of falling trees. A few houses had roofs ripped off. Oakland City was hit very hard, with hundreds of trees blown down, some on houses and vehicles.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in Gibson County, Indiana?
173 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in Gibson County between 1958 and 2025, causing 1 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in Gibson County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in Gibson County measured 96.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for Gibson County come from?
All events come from the NOAA/NCEI Storm Events Database, the federal public-domain archive of severe weather reports. Dates are UTC, damage is as reported and not inflation-adjusted, and the most recent entries may still be revised.
Cite this page
“Thunderstorm Wind in Gibson County, Indiana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/indiana/gibson-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.