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Clark County, Indiana severe weather history spans 470 recorded events between 1955 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 46.2% of all recorded events. It ranks #980 nationally and #16 in Indiana.
470
Recorded events
5
Direct deaths
45
Direct injuries
$312.5M
Property damage
The record
What the Clark County, Indiana severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Clark County, Indiana severe weather history averages 6.6 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2010s, with 152 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 35 events fall before 1990 and 435 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The deadliest hazard in the Clark County, Indiana record is tornado, responsible for 3 direct deaths. The costliest is tornado, with $311.2M in reported property damage. In total, 7 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Clark County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 217 | 0 | $788K | 80 | 1955–2026 |
| Hail | 121 | 0 | $60K | 3 | 1968–2025 |
| Flash Flood | 76 | 1 | $337K | 0 | 1996–2026 |
| Tornado | 28 | 3 | $311.2M | F5 | 1959–2024 |
| Flood | 18 | 1 | $25K | 0 | 2006–2025 |
| Heavy Rain | 9 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2019 |
| Lightning | 1 | 0 | $30K | 0 | 2020–2020 |
Decade by decade
Clark County, Indiana severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
27 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 22 touched down inside it and 5 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1974-04-03 | EF5 | 6 | 86 | 68.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2012-03-02 | EF4 | 11 | 0 | 46.6 mi | Crossed in |
| 1974-04-03 | EF4 | 11 | 190 | 35.6 mi | Touched down here |
| 2007-10-18 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 4.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-06-02 | EF3 | 0 | 7 | 12.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 1990-06-02 | EF3 | 0 | 5 | 17.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2024-04-02 | EF2 | 0 | 32 | 11.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2004-05-27 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 25.9 mi | Crossed in |
| 1961-07-23 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
| 1959-02-10 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.1 mi | Touched down here |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Clark County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apr 3, 1974 | Tornado | 1 | 23 | $0 | |
| Jul 14, 2015 | Flood | CHARLESTOWN | 1 | 0 | $20K |
| Mar 2, 2012 | Tornado | BLUE LICK | 1 | 0 | $55.0M |
| Jan 30, 2008 | Tornado | HENRYVILLE | 1 | 0 | $50K |
| Mar 1, 1997 | Flash Flood | COUNTYWIDE | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Apr 2, 2024 | Tornado | WATSON | 0 | 10 | $0 |
| Mar 15, 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | RIVER RIDGE | 0 | 4 | $0 |
| Jun 3, 1990 | Tornado | 0 | 4 | $250K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
The Clark County emergency manager along with several media outlets reported the drowning of a 67 year old male after he reportedly drove through a flooded roadway. Several inches of rain had fallen during the previous night, flooding a portion of Tunnel Mill Road. His vehicle was found several hours later and a search team discovered his body later that evening.
An EF-3 tornado touched down near Bull Creek Road, and was on the ground intermittently before lifting near the end of Fulton Road, just short of the Ohio River. The greatest damage occurred about 10 miles east northeast of Charlestown, where a recently constructed two story home was blown off its basement and destroyed. Two large barns, a stable, a silo, and four vehicles were also damaged or destroyed on the same property. Ten other homes were damaged, with four of them receiving severe damage. Five barns and several other outbuildings were destroyed. The tornado left scour marks for nearly one half mile through corn and bean fields between Bull Creek Road and Church Road just after its initial touchdown.
A tornado moved from Washington County, Indiana into western Clark County in the vicinity of Borden. It briefly reached F2 intensity in the Borden area, blowing the roofs off several homes. The roof was blown off an elementary school while a graduation was in progress, but no injuries were reported. In all, the tornado destroyed or damaged 10 homes in the Borden area. The tornado continued moving east southeast across Clark County, lifting intermittently. Several witnesses spotted the tornado as it moved south of Charlestown. It caused some F1 damage in the Stacy Road and Bethany Road areas, before lifting southeast of Charlestown.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Moderate
FEMA NRI risk rating
124,354
Population (ACS)
$223K
Median home value
20
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Jul 22, 2025 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Apr 3, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| May 4, 2018 | Flood | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
| Mar 9, 2012 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND TORNADOES | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Clark County, Indiana?
470 events are on record between 1955 and 2026, causing 5 direct deaths and $312.5M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Clark County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 217 recorded events — 46.2% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Clark County?
27 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 22 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Clark County?
20 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Clark County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Clark County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Clark County as relatively moderate risk, placing it in the 81 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Clark County, Indiana severe weather history data come from?
Every figure is drawn from United States federal public-domain records: NOAA/NCEI Storm Events for the event archive, NOAA SPC SVRGIS for mapped tornado paths, FEMA for disaster declarations and risk ratings, and the U.S. Census for population context. Dates are shown in UTC and recent entries may still be revised by NOAA.
Nearby
Neighbouring counties
- Cass County 350
- Clay County 203
- Carroll County 244
- Clinton County 284
- Brown County 189
- Crawford County 347
Cite this page
“Clark County, Indiana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/indiana/clark-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.