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Daviess County, Indiana severe weather history spans 316 recorded events between 1956 and 2026. The dominant hazard is thunderstorm wind, accounting for 48.1% of all recorded events. It ranks #1,689 nationally and #42 in Indiana.
316
Recorded events
0
Direct deaths
39
Direct injuries
$38.9M
Property damage
The record
What the Daviess County, Indiana severe weather history record shows
Across the archive, Daviess County, Indiana severe weather history averages 4.5 recorded events a year. The busiest stretch on record is the 2000s, with 109 events logged in that decade alone. Roughly 34 events fall before 1990 and 282 from 1990 onward — a gap that reflects the expansion of NOAA reporting practice as much as the weather itself.
The costliest is flood, with $20.3M in reported property damage. In total, 6 distinct hazard types appear in this county archive, each listed with its own dated record below.
By hazard type
Every hazard type recorded in Daviess County
| Hazard | Events | Deaths | Damage | Max | Span |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thunderstorm Wind | 152 | 0 | $1.1M | 78 | 1957–2026 |
| Hail | 60 | 0 | $6K | 3 | 1967–2026 |
| Flood | 40 | 0 | $20.3M | 0 | 1998–2019 |
| Flash Flood | 35 | 0 | $905K | 0 | 1996–2025 |
| Tornado | 27 | 0 | $16.5M | F4 | 1956–2025 |
| Funnel Cloud | 2 | 0 | $0 | 0 | 2009–2010 |
Decade by decade
Daviess County, Indiana severe weather history by decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
Tornado tracks
Paths crossing this county
26 mapped tornado paths intersect this county: 19 touched down inside it and 7 crossed in from a neighbouring county. This comes from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
| Date | Scale | Deaths | Injuries | Path length | Origin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990-06-02 | EF4 | 1 | 12 | 106.0 mi | Crossed in |
| 2005-11-15 | EF3 | 0 | 31 | 12.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 1990-06-02 | EF3 | 0 | 0 | 7.0 mi | Touched down here |
| 2025-03-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 57.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 2017-03-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 1.5 mi | Touched down here |
| 2017-03-01 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 2013-11-17 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 2.8 mi | Touched down here |
| 2002-09-20 | EF2 | 0 | 2 | 13.5 mi | Crossed in |
| 1986-05-15 | EF2 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 mi | Touched down here |
| 1971-05-06 | EF2 | 0 | 1 | 55.3 mi | Crossed in |
Significant events
Deadliest events on record in Daviess County
| Date | Type | Location | Deaths | Injuries | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 15, 2005 | Tornado | WASHINGTON | 0 | 31 | $11.6M |
| Jun 3, 1990 | Tornado | 0 | 6 | $2.5M | |
| Apr 3, 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | COUNTYWIDE | 0 | 1 | $300K |
| Apr 16, 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | WASHINGTON | 0 | 1 | $5K |
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Flooding occurred along the White River in Daviess County, including near Edwardsport, due to heavy rain and a breach in a levee. A levee just downstream of Elnora blew out and sandbags were scattered more than a half mile downstream.
An F3 tornado touched down near Washington, Indiana on the afternoon of 15 November 2005, and proceeded northeast for 12 miles, lifting at Crane Naval Base in Martin County. The tornado was up to 1/4 mile wide at times. The worst damage occurred 4 miles northeast of Montgomery. K&K Industries sits at that site. Abe Knepp, the owner, is also a chaplain for Daviess County Emergency Management, and was monitoring law enforcement radio traffic while at work. His decision to send his 120 employees home early likely saved several lives, as the plant was destroyed by the tornado 30 minutes after it was cleared. 123 homes and 20 businesses sustained damage in Daviess County. Despite the amount of damage, only one of the 31 reported injuries was considered serious.
A supercell thunderstorm spawned this second tornado of the day just northeast of the intersection of County Roads 1100 East and 1575 North. The weak tornado then tracked in an east to east-southeasterly direction occasionally downing trees. Scores of hardwood trees were snapped, many at mid trunk, on a hilltop just west of US Highway 231. The tornado continued across the highway and soon after into northwestern Martin County, before ending within the grounds of Crane Naval Support Activity about one mile west-southwest of the southwest corner of Lake Greenwood.
Context
Risk, population and federal disasters
Relatively Low
FEMA NRI risk rating
33,658
Population (ACS)
$197K
Median home value
18
Federal declarations
| Declared | Incident | Title | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 24, 2026 | Winter Storm | SEVERE WINTER STORM | EM |
| Apr 3, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 PANDEMIC | DR |
| Mar 13, 2020 | Biological | COVID-19 | EM |
| Jun 23, 2011 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, STRAIGHT-LINE WINDS, AND | DR |
| Apr 22, 2009 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS, TORNADOES, AND FLOODING | DR |
| Sep 23, 2008 | Severe Storm | SEVERE STORMS AND FLOODING | DR |
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many severe weather events have been recorded in Daviess County, Indiana?
316 events are on record between 1956 and 2026, causing 0 direct deaths and $38.9M in property damage.
What is the most common severe weather hazard in Daviess County?
Thunderstorm Wind, with 152 recorded events — 48.1% of everything in the archive for this county.
How many tornadoes have crossed Daviess County?
26 mapped tornado paths intersect the county boundary; 19 of them touched down inside it. This is derived from path geometry, not county-tagged reports.
How many federal disaster declarations cover Daviess County?
18 federal disaster declarations from FEMA include Daviess County, each tied to a specific incident period.
How risky is Daviess County compared with the rest of the country?
FEMA's National Risk Index rates Daviess County as relatively low risk, placing it in the 59 percentile of its state for expected annual loss.
Where does the Daviess 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
- Crawford County 347
- Dearborn County 301
- Clinton County 284
- Decatur County 260
- Clay County 203
- DeKalb County 199
Cite this page
“Daviess County, Indiana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/indiana/daviess-county/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.