120
Recorded events
2
Direct deaths
9
Direct injuries
$1.3M
Property damage
Thunderstorm Wind in DeKalb County, Indiana: 120 recorded events between 1955 and 2025. The strongest on record measured 75. That places the county #1,935 nationally and #68 statewide for this hazard.
Decade by decade
Thunderstorm Wind in DeKalb County, Indiana: events per decade
Reporting practice changed over time — early decades are undercounted, not calmer.
The busiest decade for thunderstorm wind in DeKalb County is the 2000s, when 32 of the county's 120 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 DeKalb County archive, thunderstorm wind makes up 60.3% of all recorded severe weather across 6 hazard types. Nationally the county sits at #1,935 for this hazard and #68 within Indiana, putting it in the 38.6 percentile of all U.S. counties.
Seasonality
Events by month
Jul is the peak month for thunderstorm wind in DeKalb County with 31 recorded events, while Jan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aug 9, 2011 | AUBURN | 55 | 1 | 0 | $0 |
| Mar 28, 1991 | 0 | 1 | 0 | $0 | |
| Jul 21, 2016 | SPENCERVILLE | 55 | 0 | 3 | $0 |
| Sep 4, 1984 | 0 | 0 | 3 | $0 | |
| Jul 16, 2024 | AUBURN JCT | 61 | 0 | 1 | $75K |
| May 27, 2015 | WATERLOO | 50 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
| May 27, 2015 | WATERLOO | 50 | 0 | 1 | $0 |
Most recent
Latest recorded events
| Date | Location | Magnitude | Damage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 30, 2025 | CORUNNA | 61 | $20K |
| Mar 20, 2025 | AUBURN | 61 | $20K |
| Jul 16, 2024 | AUBURN JCT | 61 | $75K |
| Jul 16, 2024 | AUBURN | 61 | $15K |
| Jul 29, 2023 | ST JOE | 50 | $0 |
| Jun 25, 2023 | AUBURN | 61 | $8K |
| Aug 29, 2022 | AUBURN DEKALB CO ARP | 51 | $0 |
| Aug 29, 2022 | ALTONA | 56 | $300K |
| May 25, 2022 | AUBURN | 50 | $0 |
| Mar 6, 2022 | MOORE | 50 | $0 |
Other hazards here
More from DeKalb County
- Hail 58
From the record
What the reports say
Written by National Weather Service staff at the time of the event · public domain
Law enforcement officials reported multiple trees down along 7th Street. One of these trees in the 400 block of 7th Street, fell onto a westbound United Parcel Service truck, striking the driver compartment. The 46 year old male driver was killed instantly.
4 houses suffered extensive damage in the city of Auburn. Numerous trees, tree limbs, power lines and poles were also blown down. A shed and other building suffered varying degrees of damage. A truck was blown over onto its side. A local resident reported a 2 by 6 stud was driven into the ground. An officer on his way to work reported a large piece of metal being wrapped around a tree on county road 427. Surveys from local emergency and NWS officials found evidence of the formation of gustnadoes where concentrated areas of damage were observed.
A mobile home on CR 427 was knocked on its side. Large tree limbs crushed the side of the trailer. A newspaper report stated that a citizens' band radio tower, set in cement, also toppled over and bent across the trailer. At another property across the street several trees were knocked down and two large pine trees were uprooted.
Quick answers
Frequently asked
How many thunderstorm wind events are on record in DeKalb County, Indiana?
120 thunderstorm wind events are recorded in DeKalb County between 1955 and 2025, causing 2 direct deaths.
What is the strongest thunderstorm wind recorded in DeKalb County?
The strongest thunderstorm wind on record in DeKalb County measured 75.
Where does the thunderstorm wind data for DeKalb 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 DeKalb County, Indiana.” Severe Weather History. severeweatherhistory.com/county/indiana/dekalb-county/thunderstorm-wind/ · Data: NOAA/NCEI, FEMA, U.S. Census — public domain.